’TIS THE SEASON FOR TUBAS
Fanueil Hall resounds with deep bass notes
The sound of more than 150 tuba players filled Faneuil Hall Marketplace yesterday as musiclovers from far and wide crowded together to hear the big brass ensemble spread some holiday cheer by playing festive songs such as “Jingle Bells” and “Joy to the World.”
Veteran musicians and students descended on the downtown marketplace to take in the 32nd annual Boston Tuba Christmas, a free holiday show that started in New York City in 1974 and has since spread to more than 300 cities worldwide. The event is sponsored by the Harvey Phillips Foundation, a nonprofit foundation dedicated to developing, expanding and preserving music.
Many of the musicians performing yesterday decked out their tubas, horns and sousaphones with Christmas lights and garlands before belting out seasonal favorites such as “Have Yourself a Merry Christmas.”
One piece in particular, which was topped with a small Santa Claus climbing out of a chimney, was a crowd favorite.
Jim Whaley, a sousaphone player from Woonsocket, R.I., said there’s something special about a group of tuba players playing in unison.
“It brings people together,” Whaley told the Herald. “The audience loves it — there’s something magical about the sound of a tuba.”
Jake Stahl, 16, of Chelmsford said he was among the performers who were picking up the instrument for the first time.
“My friends told me to come,” he said. “It was fun. I had never done something like it before.”
Among the hundreds of spectators who stopped by to listen in was Alan Maltzman, 71, of Boston, who said he’s been coming to the show for years.
“I love it,” Maltzman said. “It’s very different. I love the sound of tubas and the deep bass they get.”