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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