Harvey Phillips Liberated the Tuba

Whenever people ask me if I play a musical instrument, and I say the tuba, they giggle or frown. To be a tuba player is to be the object of scorn and derision. Oom pah, oom pah…they howl! For many people the tuba is a joke, a musical punch line. We tuba players were rarely taken seriously as musicians or music makers…until Harvey Phillips came along. Harvey knew how to make a tuba sing. He was a wizard as a player and a brilliant composer. A pal and I played a devilishly difficult tuba duet at the state high school music contest written by Phillips. We won a perfect score and brought down the house. Harvey was the tuba's liberator. He played recitals at Carnegie Hall and was the force behind the now ubiquitous tuba Christmas. He was a brilliant mentor whose disciples continue to spread his philosophy that tubas can indeed make beautiful music. Harvey Phillips died last week at the age of 80.

Just a Minute...I'm Harry Smith, CBS News.