‘It’s a warm hug’: Hundreds of tubas fill the Palmer House with velvety holiday tunes

What is it like to hear more than 300 tubas playing holiday music in the Grand Ballroom of the Palmer House Hilton?

“It’s a warm hug,” said William Johnson, one of the participating musicians.

That was the sensation felt Saturday during the “TubaChristmas” show, conducted by Michael Colburn, former director of “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band.

Gleaming silver and gold bells produced a rich, low sound that vibrated underneath the feet and through the chests of the audience. 

The instruments were as varied as the players, who ranged in age from 10 to 87. Among the brass were tubas in various keys, euphoniums, sousaphones and even a serpent-like “ophicleide,” invented in the early 19th century. Some were even decked out in colorful Christmas lights.

Michael Colburn, former director of “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band, conducts the musicians during Saturday’s “TubaChristmas.”

Now in its 50th year, the event showcases the melodic prowess of the instrument, which is often underrated. Chicago was just one stop on the show’s tour of over 300 cities internationally.

“It just keeps growing,” said Thomas Phillips, vice president of the Harvey Phillips Foundation, which oversees the event. “It’s a snowball effect. In the old days, people would say, ‘Who am I going to get to play tuba in my band?’ Nowadays, they have kids coming in saying, ‘I want to be the tuba player.’” 

Much of that is thanks to Phillips’ father, renowned tuba player and teacher Harvey Phillips, who launched the first “TubaChristmas” in 1974 at New York City’s Rockefeller Plaza ice rink. The event was a tribute to Harvey’s teacher, William J. Bell, born on Christmas in 1902.

“He couldn’t understand why people didn’t like the tuba,” Phillips, 55, of Bloomington, Ind., said of his father. “You’re judged by somebody else’s character. So, if you have one tuba player walking around the corner playing loud, blatting music, that’s what people’s [impression] is going to be. … He turned the tuba into a solo instrument.” 

Thomas Phillips, son of Harvey Phillips, who founded “TubaChristmas” in 1974, claps during the latest chapter of the event at the Palmer House Hilton on Saturday.

“TubaChristmas” attracts professionals as neophytes alike, as anyone can sign up to play. And they rehearse for just one hour prior to the show.

William Johnson, a 52-year-old data analyst from Michigan, has been participating since 2013.

“A lot of us are just amateur players,” Johnson said. “And because of the work of the Harvey Phillips Foundation … we all get to come together and play this music for audiences and share our love of low brass instruments.”

Paul Schmidt, a 65-year-old retired professional tuba player and engineer, stressed the event’s uniqueness.

“Because it’s all low brass, you’re hearing people play melodies and harmonies that normally you don’t get to hear them play,” said Schmidt, who lives north of Gurnee. “Everybody can be part of an ensemble, where they might normally be the only person playing their instrument in the group.” 

That is the case for three eighth grade “TubaChristmas” participants, who said they are the only tuba players in Mr. Bill Rank’s band class at Oak Prairie Junior High School in Lockport.

“It’s different because you never get the melody, really,” said Max Carroll, 13, who showed up with his classmates Andrew Marta, 13, and Andrew Krumdick, 14. “[One time], we conned our student teacher into giving us the melody for songs, and our band director got so mad. It was so funny.” 

Max Carroll, 13, plays a tuba during “TubaChristmas.” He also plays the instrument at Oak Prairie Junior High School in Lockport.

Both the boys and 45-year-old tuba player David Cosentino mentioned the vibrating sensation they experienced during rehearsal.

“It was absolutely amazing,” said Cosentino, of Australia, who flew in to town with a compact, “travel tuba” in his carry-on bag. “The buzz, the energy — you feel it all over your body.” 

At show time, the audience sang along with velvety renditions of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” “Silent Night,” “Silver Bells,” “Santa Wants a Tuba for Christmas” and more.

“You can hear Christmas music anywhere, but there’s something very unique about this experience,” Colburn said. “I’ve never seen anybody come to this event that didn’t have a big smile on their face.”