CONWAY, Ark. (December 4,
2017) – Dr. Gretchen Renshaw James, Director of Bands for Hendrix College, will
serve as conductor for the third annual River Valley TubaChristmas, set for Saturday,
December 9, 2017 at 11:30 a.m. The performance will be held at the King Opera
House, 427 Main Street in Historic Downtown Van Buren.
Renshaw James earned a
D.M.A. in Tuba Performance and an M.M. in Wind/Orchestral Conducting from
Michigan State University, an M.M. in Euphonium Performance from the University
of Arkansas, and a B.M. from Penn State University. She has received multiple
performance honors and has been featured as a soloist with many premier ensembles
throughout her career. She is a published arranger of tuba/euphonium music with
Potenza Music.
TubaChristmas is a concert
of well-known and loved Christmas music performed by tuba, baritone, and euphonium
players. TubaChristmas events are held in cities worldwide and celebrate those
who play, teach, and compose music for instruments in the tuba family; some
participants bring rarer members of the family such as the helicon, ophicleide,
serpent, and double bell euphonium.
All tuba, sousaphone,
baritone, and euphonium players are invited to participate in the event – regardless
of age or skill level. Registration for performers begins at 8:30 a.m., with
rehearsal at 9 a.m. Music will be provided for performers and will also be
available for purchase. Performers are encouraged to decorate their instruments
for Christmas.
This year’s event features
two special guests from the nation’s top military bands based in Washington,
D.C. As an added bonus, student performers are invited to a private concert and
teaching session with Renshaw James and the event’s special guests:
- SSG
Jeremy McBride, a euphoniumist with Pershing’s Own United States Army
Ceremonial Band, is returning for his third River Valley TubaChristmas. He is a
past winner of the Euphonium Artist Division of the International Leonard
Falcone Euphonium Competition, as well as other major euphonium competitions.
- Technical
Sgt. Erik Lundquist, a euphoniumist with the Ceremonial Brass, The United
States Air Force Band, Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Washington, D.C. He is the
winner of the 2016 International Tuba Euphonium Association Mock Euphonium Audition
and received second place in the Falcone International Tuba Euphonium
Competition that same year.
For more information, contact
Erick Wiggins at 479-926-4794 or visit the River Valley TubaChristmas Facebook page.
About
TubaChristmas
The first TubaChristmas was
organized by Harvey G. Phillips to honor his tuba teacher, William Bell, who was
born on Christmas Day 1902. It was held December 22, 1974, in the Ice Skating
Rink at New York City's Rockefeller Center. More than 300 musicians played that
day, beginning a holiday tradition. The arrangements of the Christmas carols
were written by Alec Wilder, who coincidentally died on Christmas Eve, 1980. TubaChristmas
concerts vary in size from a quartet (two euphoniums and two tubas) to several
hundred at the largest events.
About
Hendrix College
A private liberal arts
college in Conway, Arkansas, Hendrix College consistently earns recognition as
one of the country’s leading liberal arts institutions, and is featured in Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That
Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges. Its academic quality and
rigor, innovation, and value have established Hendrix as a fixture in numerous
college guides, lists, and rankings. Founded in 1876, Hendrix has been
affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. To learn more, visit www.hendrix.edu.