recurring motifs
Emerging Voices
The next generation of music eduoators are the undergraduates in our schools and faculties of
musio. The CME Journal welcomes reflective or commentary articles from students who wish to
express their ideas as they journey towards a career in music teaching.
Tuba Christmas
I
t was a crisp Saturday morning in
December—not quite cold entiuj^h to
snow, but definitely cold enough to see
your breath when you exhaled. My high
school hand teacher had somehow talked
me into playing my euphonium in the
highly-praised "Tuba Christmas" event
downtown. Having only played the
instrument for a year (after switching
from one of the typical woodwind instru-
ments of middle school), I was unsure of
what to expect. My mother, the family
taxi driver, drove me down to the
University of Victoria, where the two-
hour morning rehearsal was taking place.
Two whole hours. An eternity to play a
brass instrument; did the conductor
expect me to have lips left when it was
over?
Nevertheless, I arrived, received my Tuba
Christmas button (1 still have it for future
use), and set up my instrument and stand
among the forest of people who must
have been at least three times my age. 1
almost started warming up, but after hear-
ing the person two chairs down play his
beautiful silver euphonium with four
valves (one too many, as far as I wa.s con-
cerned), I decided it would be much too
embarrassing. Instead, 1 buried myself in
the music, making sure I knew the finger-
ings for all of those "off-the-staff' notes.
The time came for the rehearsal to begin,
and the group was introduced to the con-
ductor, the lower brass teacher for the
university. He launched into his speech
about the times for the performance later
on that afternoon, where to put music
stands and cases, what to wear, and when
to eat lunch, while 1 frantically tried to
take it all in so I wouldn't be lost later on.
Over the course of the rehearsal 1 got
used to his forward style of teaching—
after all, we had over thirty carols to get
22 CANADIAN MUSIC EDUCATOR
By Alyssa Hait
through in just two hours! Despite the
tush, we managed to play the entire book
of music with enough expression and
detail to satisfy the conductor, and
although 1 couldn't move my lips by the
end of it (and certainly hadn't managed
to hit all of the notes), I did enjoy it.
1 quickly packed up my instrument and
found my mom in the parking lot, ready
to drive me down to Market Square for
lunch and the performance. When we got
there (thankfully she knew where we
were going, as I certainly didn't remem-
ber) I followed a fellow euphonium play-
er to the storage room for our cases,
dropped my instrument off, and headed
to the near-by Mexican restaurant, much
to the satisfaction of my grumbling stom-
ach. All too soon the time came to get
ready, so 1 donned my two pairs of gloves,
winter jacket, and toque to try and keep
warm during the outside performance.
The conductor had us warm up with a B
flat concert scale, which attracted the
attention of the growing crowd all around
the square. When we started playing the
first piece all I could do was gasp in won-
der and amazement. The sound was the
most beautiful rhing I had heard in my
entire life.
For me. Tuba Christmas was an incredible
experience that showed me the power of
music to unite people from all walks of
life. In the ensemble there were people
from ages 14 to SO, with a wide range of
skill. It didn't matter to the conductor or
the person sitting next to you how well
you could play, all that really counted was
that fact that we were all there to make
music together.
I have continued to play in the Tuba
Christmas event every year since this expe-
rience; 2007 will be my fourth year in a
row. To this day it amazes me that a group
t)f fifty people can get together for only one
rehearsal and produce a stiund so wonder-
ful that it attracts thousands of people
every year. It brings out the true enjoy-
ment of music in everyone involved—the
audience, the lower brass players, and the
people we raise money to help.
As 1 examine why this event was so pow-
erful, the recurring theme is acceptance.
Tuba Christmas is open to anyeine who
has a euphoniutn or tuba and wants to
play. For the first time in my life 1 had
nothing to prove. The conductor had no
expectations of my ability, and neither did
the people listening to me. This event
allowed me to grow in my ability on my
instrument (four hours is a long time to
play for a beginner!) and in my love of
music. In the years following, 1 have
become a better euphonium player and
someone else has taken my role in Tuba
Christmas. They are also accepted, just as
I was that crisp December moming.
As a future music educator, 1 will remem-
ber this experience and try to emulate the
atmosphere of acceptance with my stu-
dents. I believe that it is very important
to make kids feel comfortable no matter
how good a musician they are.
Acceptance is key to improvement, as it
means the kids will feel more comfortable
taking risks, and trying new things.
Wlien I become a teacher, creating an
accepting environment will be one of my
main goals, as I strive to teach children
the true love of music, CME
Alyssa Hait is a first-year piano major
af ffie University of Vicforia. She also
enjoys playing the euphonium and
singing, Alyssa hopes to get her
Bachelor's degree in Music Education so
she can share her love of music with
offers.