Tuba Players Gather For Annual Rockefeller Event
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) -- The weather was damp, but there was plenty of holiday spirit as musicians stepped onto the ice at Rockefeller Center for the 37th annual Merry Tuba Christmas.
The skating rink was filled with tuba players of all ages -- some in elementary school and even those who were in their 80's.
WCBS 880's Ginny Kosola spoke to a Pompton Plains, NJ native still playing the tuba at 82.
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"It's just a great joy...Christmas is a wonderful, wonderful time of the year and it's fun to be part of it in front of that big tree," he said.
Tuba Christmas is a tradition that was started as a tribute to composers, who write music for the tuba. The first event took place at the Rockefeller Plaza ice rink on December 22, 1974.
This was the eighth year at the event for Michael Wolf, of Flemington, NJ.
"It's your one chance to be a rock star," Wolf said. "You come up down the concourse, there are people lined up on both sides. You walk out onto the ice, you look up and all of a sudden there are thousands of people waiting to hear you play."
