The Department of Music at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point is offering both traditional and new experiences virtually this holiday season with Tuba Christmas and musical “Offerings of Peace” videos.
The 10th annual Tuba Christmas event is being held online this year, with both a performance by students and play-along options coordinated by Patrick Lawrence, professor of low brass and music education. Tuba Christmas concerts are held annually across the world, featuring traditional Christmas carols arranged by American composer Alec Wilder for low brass instruments.
“Offerings of Peace,” short music videos centered around peaceful experiences, are being created and posted online daily by music students and faculty members and are also on the “UWSP Music” Facebook page.
The videos were inspired by The Peace Studio’s recent “100 Offerings of Peace,” an initiative in response to the isolating COVID-19 pandemic and the revolution for racial justice.
“At the conclusion of the Peace Studio’s campaign, they called artists worldwide to continue to offer peace. As a department, we wanted to answer that call,” said Midori Samson, lecturer of bassoon at UW-Stevens Point.
The videos are fewer than five minutes long and include a short biography of the artist creating each offering. Some might include a call to action to create peace in daily life.
