Contributed Photo: Come join us or just witness the 50th anniversary of Tuba Christmas!
Contributed Article
TOMBSTONE – Tuba Christmas has been happening in this area for more than 11 years and returns to Tombstone on Saturday, Dec. 9. The free concert begins at 1 p.m. at the Tombstone City Park, located at the corner of 3rd and Allen Streets.
The performance features low brass players of all ages from across Cochise County and the state of Arizona. Anyone who plays the tuba, sousaphone, euphonium, or baritone horn is invited to participate.
“This year is the 50th anniversary of Tuba Christmas! Everyone should play! If you don’t play tuba, sousaphone, baritone horn, or euphonium, please come to the concert, ” said Lorie Sheridan, Joyce Clark MS Band Director, and euphonium player, who is coordinating the annual event with Tombstone resident and euphonium player Larry Bowers. “It’s neat to see beginners sitting next to people who have been playing their entire lives.”
Each year, a new conductor is selected to lead the ensemble. This year our director will be Rick Weisburg. Rick graduated in 1978 with a double music degree from the University of Northern Colorado in Music Education and Trombone performance where he studied trombone under Buddy Baker for 5 years. He took a one-year position in Boulder, Colorado, and four years at Steamboat Springs High School (home of the only performing marching band on skies) building the program as one of the top small school band programs in the state.
In 1983, Rick moved to Arizona accepting a full-ride scholarship to ASU working on his Master’s degree in trombone performance and music education. After three semesters it was time to get back to teaching. In the fall of 1985, Rick spent two years at Apache Junction High School tripling the size of the band before moving to Catalina High School in Tucson in the fall of 1987.
In 1987, Rick founded the Arizona All-State Jazz Band for high school students and was the administrator of that group for its first five years. That group’s first performance was at the end of the annual Arizona Music Educators conference. Two years later because of this work at the 1989 Arizona Music Educators Conference along with the performance of the All-State Jazz Band, we had the first Arizona All-State Jazz Choir and All-State Show Choir. These groups are still to this day a part of the overall music education in the state for high school students.
Rick moved to Sierra Vista in 1990 to take over band programs at three elementary schools and three years later added Apache Middle School when it first opened working with an average of 400 instrumental students a year until leaving the profession in 1997. In 2012 Rick took over as music director of the Desert Swing Big Band in Sierra Vista where he got a chance to work with a lot of very talented local musicians and move the group into the big band music of today. He recently retired as the director but still plays bass trombone with the group. Currently, he is also president of the San Pedro Fly Casters.
Rick is one of the original founding members of the Sierra Vista Symphony, and the last original non-string member to retire from the group. After 28 years with the symphony, 24 of which he was principal trombone, his last performance with this group was this past summer. He left teaching in 1997 to start a woodworking business producing fly-tying benches and accessories for the serious fly tier selling to companies like Bass Pro Shop, Cabela’s, Orvis, and 200 fly shops around the United States. In 2005, Rick started Oasis Water Harvesting which has become his primary business helping more than 2,000 customers in southern Arizona to conserve water. Rick is looking at retiring in the near future with fly fishing, woodworking, gardening, and traveling with Kathy and their corgi Woody.
Low brass players interested in performing at Tuba Christmas should plan to attend the rehearsal at the Tombstone American Legion Hall, located at 225 E. Allen St. the morning of the concert. Registration begins at 9:00 am and rehearsal starts at 9:30 am.
All performers should bring their $10 registration fee (cash or check only), official Tuba Christmas music book (available for purchase in both bass and treble clef, and used at the event every year), horn, and stand to rehearsal. Performers are also encouraged to wear festive attire and decorate their horns.
Tuba Christmas was conceived in 1974 by the late tubist Harvey Phillips as a tribute to his teacher and mentor William J. Bell, who was born on Christmas day in 1902. Since then, Tuba Christmas concerts have been performed annually at countless venues throughout the world.
For more information about Tuba Christmas, visit www.tubachristmas.com. For more information about the event in Tombstone, call Sheridan at (520) 234-7094.
