"NewsHour" digital associate producer# Tim McPhillips reports on a co that celebrates one booming brass instrument.
TIM MCPHILLIPS: It wasn't the# famed Rockefeller Center Tree,## the dazzling windows at Saks Fifth Avenue, or# br ought hundreds of people out in a downpour# to celebrate the holiday season in New York.
It was the tuba.
This year marked the# 50th anniversary of TubaChristmas,## a yearly gathering of enthusiasts who play the## season's favorite songs exclusively# on this MICHAEL SALZMAN, Coordinator, New York City# TubaChristmas: They have come from all over## the country.
I have people who have d from Virginia, North Carolina.
There are close to# 300 TubaChristmas events across the country and## around the world, but this is the granddaddy# of them all.
This is where it all began.
TIM MCPHILLIPS: Michael Salzman# is the coordinator for New York## City's iteration of TubaChristmas.# MI CHAEL SALZMAN: I started playing# the tuba for the same reason that## most tuba players did, because# the band needed a tu TIM MCPHILLIPS: To the untrained# ear, it may be hard to recognize## the tuba as the steady bass of a song# or the importa MATHIAS OLDHAM, Tuba Player: We# really help make things run.
We## might not be the flashiest, but# we TIM MCPHILLIPS: When he started# TubaChristmas, famed tuba player## Harvey Phillips wanted his instrument# to have its own The tradition began in 1974 as a tribute# to Phillips' own tuba teacher and mentor,## William J.
Bell.
The event now happens in places# like San Francisco, as well as hundreds of others## around the U.S. and the world, like Honolulu,# Costa Rica, Vancouver, and Washington, D.C. CHRIS WILHJELM, Conductor, New York# City TubaChristmas: It's amazing.## These people 12-year-old kids here playing in the ensemble,# TI M MCPHILLIPS: Chris Wilhjelm has# been the New York City TubaChristmas## conductor for 20 years.
Rehearsal# starts just hours prio when tuba players of all ages and# experiences do a quick test run.
CHRIS WILHJELM: We have just a# few minutes to rehearse.
Yes,## I guess you could say it's# a little bit of a challenge.
TIM MCPHILLIPS: After rehearsal, the# players swar out in their finest holiday styles,# showcasing the tuba's unexpected r MICHAEL SALZMAN: It's really such a very, very# beautiful sound.
We equate it to a big warm hug.
TIM MCPHILLIPS: And while the weather outside was## frightful, to those in For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Tim McPhillips.
AMNA NAWAZ: Like a big warm hug.
(LAUGHTER) AMNA NAWAZ