Tuba Christmas

Quick post about a thing that happened last December before I went home for Christmas and New Year’s. After getting back from AIChE, my plan was basically to do whatever research necessary, go to band, be inducted into a frat¹, finish my class, and get out of Ann Arbor at the earliest possible date. Which I did, after doing one thing for fun – Tuba Christmas.

I learned about Tuba Christmas a few years ago, and always kind of meant to go, but one year it was really cold and another year I think I had something else going on. Last year, I was determined to go, no matter the weather or whatever else was happening. As it turns out, it was pretty cold and Handel’s Messiah was being performed at Hill Auditorium at the same time, but I chose Tuba Christmas. As may be deduced from the name, Tuba Christmas involves tubas (and euphoniums), playing Christmas carols. The musicians range from band students to retirees, all gathered together to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

Tuba Christmas at the Farmers' Market Pavilion

The event took place at one end of the Kerrytown farmers’ market pavilion while the Sunday Artisan Market was also going on. [The Artisan Market features handmade items created by local artists and runs on Sunday afternoons from April to December.] Tuba Christmas lasted about an hour with over a dozen different carols. For each carol, the musicians would first play, then the audience was invited to sing along the second time through. It was fun, and I’m glad I finally got to go and experience it.

¹Not actually a frat. It was Tau Beta Pi (TBP), the engineering honor society, which I’ve been eligible for since I was an undergraduate at Cornell. They kept sending me letters, so I finally went to check them out. They require volunteer hours and seem less intent on selling the Michigan™ brand² than most Michigan-affiliated groups, so I joined.

²Maize and blue, block M’s, the Leaders and the Best, Go Blue, the Michigan Difference, etc.