Five cities host tuba Christmas

At least five Iowa cities are hosting musical events this weekend as part of Tuba Christmas. More than one-hundred tuba and euphonium players will converge on Mason City’s Southbridge Mall on Saturday for one of the events. Coordinator Al Zook says Tuba Christmas events nationwide honor an Iowa native.Zook says Tuba Christmas honors famous tuba professor William Bell, who was born in Creston in 1902. In Mason City, Zook says Tuba Christmas has grown from just eight people its first year to more than one-hundred players over the past century.Zook says people usually don’t think of tubas and euphoniums as being the types of instruments on which Christmas Carols are played, he says other brass instruments are usually what they think of first. He says the tuba and euphoniums are beautiful to hear.Tuba Christmas events are also underway this weekend in Creston, Ottumwa, Des Moines and Cedar Rapids. You can find more information about Tuba Christmas events nationwide at “www.tubachristmas.com”.