Through grants from the Berkshire Taconic Foundation, and the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Berkshire Music School treated children from four Berkshire County primary schools, to a performance of the classic, “Tubby the Tuba.” Over two days, May 31 and June 1, the ensemble performed the children’s classic at the Kittridge School in Hinsdale, the Craneville School in Dalton, the Lee Elementary School, and the Becket Washington School.
After a lively introduction of the instruments of the orchestra, Eli Newberger, as Tubby, played his heart out with an “unheard of” melody for the tuba, after the violins jeered and the trombone stuck out his tongue. Impressed by Tubby’s beautiful melody, the instruments all joined in with this beautiful finale.
In the video below, personnel from left to right are Christine Singer, violin; Bob Van Wart, cello; Jeffry Bradway, narrator; Joe Rose, keyboard; Carolyn Newberger, flute and piccolo; Rob Fisch, trumpet; and Eli Newberger, tuba and trombone. Music by George Kleinsinger; story by Paul Tripp; and arrangement by Eli Newberger.
The program of performances in Berkshire County primary schools was organized by the Berkshire Music School in Pittsfield, Mass., Tracy Wilson, Director, and Sherri James Buxton, Director of Development.
Supertitle images by Henry Cole, from Paul Tripp, “Tubby the Tuba,” New York, Dutton Children’s Books, 2006. Courtesy Louise Eastman Weed and David Tripp.
