TubaChristmas! December 10, 2011

November 11, 2011 – Fa la la and oom pah pah: TubaChristmas returns to Erie for a tenth annual holiday performance.

This favorite family event takes place on Saturday, Dec. 10, in the McGarvey Commons of the Reed Union Building at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College. The performance begins at 1 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

As its name implies, TubaChristmas is songs of the season interpreted by a choir of student, amateur, and professional low-brass musicians performing under guest directors Gary Viebranz of Penn State Behrend; Daniel Burdick of Edinboro University of Pennsylvania; and Lowell Hepler and Ronald Stitt of Allegheny College.

Any low-brass musician is invited to join the TubaChristmas performance; rehearsals will be held on site that morning. To register to perform, visit the web site tubachristmaserie.com or contact Viebranz at 814-898-6289 or gav3@psu.edu.

TubaChristmas debuted at Rockefeller Center’s ice rink in 1974 as a tribute to the late tuba legend William J. Bell, who was born on Christmas Day 1902, and now takes place in hundreds of cities across the country. TubaChristmas is produced by the Harvey Phillips Foundation; the Erie performance is supported by the Mary Behrend Cultural Fund.