Ensemble of tuba players spread holiday joy

• First Kelowna show in two years
• Featuring many tubas and euphoniums
• 48 years of the event around the world

Christmas spirit filled the halls at The Rotary Centre for the Arts Monday evening, marking the return of TubaChristmas.

The event brought together about dozen tuba and euphonium players to perform Christmas songs. The experience filled the space with a powerful combination of deep and higher wind instrument tones.

The event started in 1974 in New York City, and the first performance in British Columbia was in Victoria in 1978. Kelowna got involved in 2016.

Conductor Peter DeRoche told Kelowna10 the audience was eager to take in the first performance in two years.

"I fed off that energy, and it made for a really enjoyable time,” he said.

DeRoche described TubaChristmas as a fun, laid back, and unique event that gives guests a look at instruments people aren’t overly familiar with. The musicians in the band were from both the Kelowna Symphony Orchestra and Kelowna City Band.

“A lot of these players that were here tonight are very advanced amateurs and professionals. They do a lot of practicing and a lot of playing and have taken a lot of lessons and learned how to handle their instrument properly,” he said.

Among the 13 tuba players in the ensemble was Reynold Epp, a member of the Kelowna City Band.

“This is my seventh or eighth Tubachristmas and I absolutely love it,” he said. “It’s very inspiring and the music is light and happy. I’ve been playing tuba since I was 12 years old and discovered TubaChristmas 15 years ago and it’s been a real highlight of my Christmas ever since.”

Epp admits there was a fair amount of anxiousness before the show.

“Some of the players, including myself, could feel our nerves again because we haven’t been playing much in front of audiences,” he said. “But after we played the first tune and got into it, it was really nice to hear the audience applause and to know there was really people in the audience.”

Kelowna and Kamloops are the only two B.C. Interior cities to host performances.