MUCH OBLIGED: TubaChristmas a success

Talk about it

The fifth annual TubaChristmas was a wonderful success, and I want to thank the people at The Daily Republic for their help.

My first thank you goes to Micaela Nelson and Jen Jungwirth for listing the event in the news column and the “What’s Going On” column. Another thank you goes to Jen Jungwirth for the delightful feature story in the Lifestyles section of the Saturday edition. It was very well written, accurate and told the history of TubaChristmas. I also want to thank Chris Huber for taking the photo for the Lifestyles feature. He made my tuba look pretty good for a big, beat-up, 200-year-old horn.

I especially want to thank our audiences at the seven concert sites. The activity directors at the four retirement centers are always wonderful at getting their delightful residents to the social areas. The tuba group loves playing for them, because the seniors really appreciate the music. Another special thanks goes to the Area Community Theatre, where we gave a pre-show concert. The audience came early to hear us play tuba carols, and their applause warmed our hearts. Our fans turned out in large numbers at Coborn’s and County Fair supermarkets to show their love and enthusiasm for this event. Thank you to these store managers for allowing us to crowd the store aisles and play for the shoppers.

The next appreciation is to the 15 tuba and baritone players, ranging in age from 9 to 70, who came from several area communities to play the concerts. Many thanks go to Julie Van Gorp, Mitchell Middle School band director, and to Kevin Klendl, Parkston High School band director, who conducted the music for TubaChristmas and kept the musicians in tune and on the beat.

A very Merry TubaChristmas to the Mitchell Community. We will see you again next year on the first Sunday in December to again lift your spirits for the busy holiday season.

Lelia Guilbert is the TubaChristmas coordinator in Mitchell.

Tags: much obliged, opinion, letters