This Sunday, December 8th, at the Centennial Concert Hall at 1pm The Manitoba Band Association (MBA) is holding their annual Holiday Tuba Festival.
Since 2002 tuba and euphonium players of all skill levels have been gathering to spread some Christmas cheer by performing holiday music as a huge low brass choir.
This is a concert where no sub-woofers are needed. A concert where all the basses will be covered, and the holiday cheer will be warm, resonant and sonorous.
One of the highlights of this years’ festival is that the MBA has commissioned a new work for tuba ensemble written by Winnipeg composer Joyce German. Her beautiful and joyous piece Circle of Unity will help to celebrate Kwanza and add some diversity to the concert.
This is going to be a fun way to soak up some holiday cheer, and a rare opportunity to see this number of festive brass players in one place.
Since the inaugural Holiday Tuba festival, the numbers have grown, and it is now at a point where it has become a holiday tradition here in Winnipeg. Vanessa Nowostawski is a committee member for the festival and has taken part in the festival every year since its formation. As she explains, “The first one in 2002, I was in high school and our committee chair Rob Moson, who was my band teacher at the time said, ‘Hey we are thinking about putting this thing together, and trying out this music.’ So, we all met at Dakota Collegiate...we had a quick rehearsal. We walked across the street to St. Vital Mall and played there. We were about 40 people at the time. All skill levels of tuba and euphonium players. It was just kind of a fun get together, and the people that were shopping enjoyed our performance. Then eventually, we got too big for the space, which is a wonderful problem to have...and we were fortunate enough to move over to the concert hall.”
Pre-COVID the numbers of low brass players at the festival exceeded 100 players, and post COVID the numbers are still extraordinarily strong, and have been growing steadily since the lockdown was lifted. Nowostawski is expecting a minimum of 60 players of all ages and skill levels to take part this year.
This year Christmas and the first night of Hannukah are on the 25th, and Kwanzaa is on the 26th. So, listeners will be able to hear music representing these different holidays. There will be Hannukah music as well as favorites such as Away in a Manger, O Come O Come Emanuel, It came Upon a Midnight Clear, and Joy to the World, to name just a few.
To celebrate Kwanzaa the MBA has commissioned South Sudanese Canadian saxophonist, vocalist and composer Joyce German to compose a piece for the choir of tubas. Her piece Circle of Unity draws on African traditions, as she says of her piece:
“I named my composition 'Circle of Unity'. Since Kwanzaa is all about joining together to celebrate culture, freedom, and unity, I thought that was fitting. I kept it relatively simple and incorporated African elements with some call and response. I kept the overall feel as a traditional African rhythmic tune. I imagine someone playing the djembe as accompaniment for reference if that helps. Feel free to repeat certain sections to stretch it. The staggering entrances reflect the title, which describes a recurring circle with some parts where they join together and somewhere they enter on their own.”
Conducting the tuba choir will be Alexis Silver who is the Band Director at Sisler High School. The sound of the group is truly singular to Silver, as she says, “When it is only these instruments [tubas and euphoniums] there is a beautiful transparency of sound...it is just one color which is a pretty magical thing.... I encourage all of my low brass players at Sisler and some of my trumpets that want to read some treble clef parts to come and join in, because it is a special thing for these kinds of instruments... especially at a younger playing level to get to play melody, and also just to have the experience of being together in this giant ensemble of low brass, that doesn’t happen very often.”
The Manitoba Band Association's Holiday Tuba Festival is pure joy for both listeners and players. As Nowostawski says, “The community and joy that this event brings on...that is what I look forward to every year.”
For listeners as well, this is a fantastic way to feel the warmth of the holidays, via the mellow, cozy, beautiful sounds of low brass.
The Manitoba Band Association's Holiday Tuba Festival takes place this Sunday, December 8th, at the Centennial Concert Hall at 1:05pm.