Tuba or not tuba
Claire Lekwa - The Daily Iowan
Issue date: 12/13/07 Section: 80 Hours
- Page 1 of 1
The man in the Santa suit with a candy-cane baton, directing tubas and euphoniums on the steps of the Old Capitol, wanted to spread holiday spirit to more than just listeners on the Pentacrest this year. UI Assistant Professor John Manning decided to use the annual "Holiday Tubas" concert on Friday to benefit children in need by pairing with Toys for Tots.
"I thought if we were going to get a couple hundred people there, we might make it a philanthropic endeavor,' Manning said. The Toys for Tots cause resonated with him - he was shopping for his daughter for Christmas, thinking about children who would not be so fortunate to receive gifts.
In 2006, Toys for Tots distributed 19.2 million toys to 7.6 million needy children throughout the United States, according to the organization's annual report. The local campaign, Hawkeye Area Toys for Tots, paired with the Salvation Army to give Christmas gifts to more than 1,300 children in the Johnson County area, said co-coordinator Carmen Noska.
The organization has seen fewer donations this year, she said, especially in gifts for children ages birth to 3. She hopes the community will remember to donate, or else fewer children will receive gifts this Christmas.
On Friday at 12:30 p.m., Toys for Tots drop boxes will be set up on the steps of the Old Capitol, welcoming donations for children up to age 15. Meanwhile, the UI Tuba-Euphonium Ensemble will play a 30-minute outdoor holiday concert, opening with the "Underdog" theme song and playing other upbeat tunes, such as "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch" and the Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas song.
Manning beams as he talks about the concert, a holiday tradition started by UI Professor Robert Yeats in 1973. For 34 years, student and community musicians have faced the elements with cheer, dressing their instruments with wrapping paper, lights, and garlands and donning reindeer antlers and festive garb.
Now that the concert will also be a Toys for Tots event, Manning is reminded of another time he played his tuba for the organization's cause. In 1987, as a part of the Air Force Band of the Golden Gate in California, he played holiday music with a brass quintet at a Midas muffler shop, while Marines loaded heaps of toys into trucks. The concert turned bizarre, however, when it started to rain, moving Manning and his fellow musicians into the repair bay, playing among flying sparks and machinery.
If the weather turns awry on Friday, Manning said, the musicians will play on. Senior Chet Aliga, the drum major for the Hawkeye Marching Band, remembers playing his euphonium in temperatures from the 40s to the teens during the three years he has participated.
"When it gets cold enough, your mouthpiece can freeze to your lips," he said.
For Manning, the reaction from the audience makes it worth braving the winter weather.
"How can you see a bunch of crazy tuba players and not smile?' he said. "It's a warm atmosphere, even though it's cold outside."
E-mail DI eporter Claire Lekwa at:
claire-lekwa@uiowa.edu
"I thought if we were going to get a couple hundred people there, we might make it a philanthropic endeavor,' Manning said. The Toys for Tots cause resonated with him - he was shopping for his daughter for Christmas, thinking about children who would not be so fortunate to receive gifts.
In 2006, Toys for Tots distributed 19.2 million toys to 7.6 million needy children throughout the United States, according to the organization's annual report. The local campaign, Hawkeye Area Toys for Tots, paired with the Salvation Army to give Christmas gifts to more than 1,300 children in the Johnson County area, said co-coordinator Carmen Noska.
The organization has seen fewer donations this year, she said, especially in gifts for children ages birth to 3. She hopes the community will remember to donate, or else fewer children will receive gifts this Christmas.
On Friday at 12:30 p.m., Toys for Tots drop boxes will be set up on the steps of the Old Capitol, welcoming donations for children up to age 15. Meanwhile, the UI Tuba-Euphonium Ensemble will play a 30-minute outdoor holiday concert, opening with the "Underdog" theme song and playing other upbeat tunes, such as "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch" and the Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas song.
Manning beams as he talks about the concert, a holiday tradition started by UI Professor Robert Yeats in 1973. For 34 years, student and community musicians have faced the elements with cheer, dressing their instruments with wrapping paper, lights, and garlands and donning reindeer antlers and festive garb.
Now that the concert will also be a Toys for Tots event, Manning is reminded of another time he played his tuba for the organization's cause. In 1987, as a part of the Air Force Band of the Golden Gate in California, he played holiday music with a brass quintet at a Midas muffler shop, while Marines loaded heaps of toys into trucks. The concert turned bizarre, however, when it started to rain, moving Manning and his fellow musicians into the repair bay, playing among flying sparks and machinery.
If the weather turns awry on Friday, Manning said, the musicians will play on. Senior Chet Aliga, the drum major for the Hawkeye Marching Band, remembers playing his euphonium in temperatures from the 40s to the teens during the three years he has participated.
"When it gets cold enough, your mouthpiece can freeze to your lips," he said.
For Manning, the reaction from the audience makes it worth braving the winter weather.
"How can you see a bunch of crazy tuba players and not smile?' he said. "It's a warm atmosphere, even though it's cold outside."
E-mail DI eporter Claire Lekwa at:
claire-lekwa@uiowa.edu
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