Christmas with tubas: During the holidays, students from Seneca Ridge Middle School and Park View High School helped fill the Kennedy Center with a joyful noise as they performed with more than 300 Washington area musicians of all ages in “TUBACHRISTMAS.” The annual event is part of a worldwide celebration that gathers tuba, sousaphone and euphonium players to play traditional Christmas music across the globe. The first “TUBACHRISTMAS” took place on Dec. 22, 1974 at the Rockefeller Plaza Ice Rink in New York.

This was the fifth year that Sterling students participated in the event. Park View High School band director Jonathan Phillip, a tuba player himself, wanted his students to enjoy the experience that began for him as a high school musician performing at “TUBACHRISTMAS” in Harpers Ferry. The year he launched the project, Phillip was dating the band director at Seneca Ridge and talked to her about bringing her students to the performance. She thought it would be a great opportunity for the younger musicians to spend time and perform with the older students—and a tradition was launched.

Today, the band directors are husband and wife. And, these days, Laurel Phillip, the Seneca Ridge Band Director, serves as the second conductor responsible for conducting the back of the “TUBACHRISTMAS” group at the Kennedy Center. The assembled band has grown so large that all of the musicians are unable to see the conductor at the front.

According to Phillip, she ended up in the job by being in the “right place at the right time.” One year, the master of ceremonies of the event, former National Symphony Orchestra principal tubist David Bragunier, was looking for a band director to help conduct the larger ensemble. A friend of hers happened to be talking to him and suggested Laurel for the slot. She’s been happily helping with the event since then.

“I contribute much more to conducting than playing,” said Phillip with a laugh. Although she can play the euphonium, a smaller version of a tuba (and many other instruments) very well, her primary instrument is the flute.

The “TUBACHRISTMAS” performers span all ages—from 11 to 85—and all professions. Some are students, some are professional performers from the area’s military bands, some are adults who’ve gone on to other careers who began music studies in middle school and some are parents who enjoy playing music with their children.

“It’s really neat to see and be a part of,” Laurel Phillips said.

The “TUBACHRISTMAS” performance is archived online with the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage offerings at http://www.kennedy-center.org/explorer/videos/?id=M4862. You can watch Laurel and the Sterling musicians on the streamed performance.

Eating hot chili: Sterling Middle School holds its third annual Bingo and Chili Cook-off fundraising event on Friday, Jan. 27. Chefs of all ages are working on fabulous chili recipes in a bid to take the crown from last year’s winner, Sterling Middle School assistant principal Joseph Guinther. The chili tasting begins at 6 p.m. The cost is $5 to taste all entries and $3 for a bowl of your favorite. Bingo begins at 7 p.m., with eight games including a jackpot round. Admission is $5 for all eight games. Extra cards are $1 each. Refreshments will be available. To submit a chili entry, contact Tammy Jones at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Win it: The Senior Center at Cascades presents an encore of its own version of the popular NBC game show, “Minute to Win It,” on Tuesday, Jan. 31, from 1 until 2 p.m. The action-packed entertainment includes opportunities to win gift cards to local restaurants. Admission is $7.