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"NewsHour" digital associate 
producer# 
Tim McPhillips reports on a 
co

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that celebrates one booming 
brass instrument.

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TIM MCPHILLIPS: It wasn't the# 
famed Rockefeller Center 
Tree,##

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the dazzling windows at Saks 
Fifth Avenue, or#

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br 
ought hundreds of people out 
in a downpour# 
to celebrate the holiday season 
in New York.

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It was the tuba. This year 
marked the# 
50th anniversary of 
TubaChristmas,##

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a yearly gathering of 
enthusiasts who play the##

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season's favorite songs 
exclusively# 
on this

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MICHAEL SALZMAN, Coordinator, 
New York City# 
TubaChristmas: They have come 
from all over##

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the country. I have people who 
have d

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from Virginia, North Carolina. 
There are close to# 
300 TubaChristmas events across 
the country and##

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around the world, but this is 
the granddaddy# 
of them all. This is where it 
all began.

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TIM MCPHILLIPS: Michael 
Salzman# 
is the coordinator for New 
York##

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City's iteration of 
TubaChristmas.#

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MI 
CHAEL SALZMAN: I started 
playing# 
the tuba for the same reason 
that##

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most tuba players did, because# 
the band needed a tu

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TIM MCPHILLIPS: To the 
untrained# 
ear, it may be hard to 
recognize##

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the tuba as the steady bass of 
a song# 
or the importa

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MATHIAS OLDHAM, Tuba Player: 
We# 
really help make things run. 
We##

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might not be the flashiest, 
but# 
we

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TIM MCPHILLIPS: When he 
started# 
TubaChristmas, famed tuba 
player##

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Harvey Phillips wanted his 
instrument# 
to have its own

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The tradition began in 1974 as 
a tribute# 
to Phillips' own tuba teacher 
and mentor,##

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William J. Bell. The event now 
happens in places# 
like San Francisco, as well as 
hundreds of others##

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around the U.S. and the world, 
like Honolulu,# 
Costa Rica, Vancouver, and 
Washington, D.C.

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CHRIS WILHJELM, Conductor, New 
York# 
City TubaChristmas: It's 
amazing.##

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These people

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12-year-old kids here playing 
in the ensemble,#

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TI 
M MCPHILLIPS: Chris Wilhjelm 
has# 
been the New York City 
TubaChristmas##

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conductor for 20 years. 
Rehearsal# 
starts just hours prio

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when tuba players of all ages 
and# 
experiences do a quick test run.

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CHRIS WILHJELM: We have just a# 
few minutes to rehearse. 
Yes,##

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I guess you could say it's# 
a little bit of a challenge.

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TIM MCPHILLIPS: After 
rehearsal, the# 
players swar

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out in their finest holiday 
styles,# 
showcasing the tuba's 
unexpected r

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MICHAEL SALZMAN: It's really 
such a very, very# 
beautiful sound. We equate it 
to a big warm hug.

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TIM MCPHILLIPS: And while the 
weather outside was##

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frightful, to those in

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For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Tim 
McPhillips.

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AMNA NAWAZ: Like a big warm hug.

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(LAUGHTER) 
AMNA NAWAZ