Saturday’s Tuba Christmas concert at the First United Methodist Church celebrated the life of Perry’s world-famous tubist, William Bell.
The 1 p.m. performance by tubas, euphoniums and one trombone was conducted by veteran tubist Gary McCurdy before a festively dressed audience of about 30, who tapped their toes to the collection of Christmas carols.
Along with conducting the orchestra, McCurdy introduced the songs and outlined the life of Bell, who was born in Creston in 1902 and at the age of 10 began playing tuba in a boys band in Fairfield.
He was soon touring in professional bands prior to attending the University of North Dakota on a full music scholarship at the age of 15. By the time he was 18, Bell was hired by the famed bandsman John Phillip Sousa as principal tuba.
Bell was principal tuba of the Cincinnati Symphony from 1923 to 1937, when the famed director Arturo Toscanini selected him to be the principal tuba in the newly formed NBC Symphony Orchestra. In 1943 Bell accepted an invitation to become the principal tuba with the New York Philharmonic.
He later turned his talents to teaching, accepting a professorship in 1961 at Indiana University, where he became widely known for his teaching ability and for publishing teaching material that came to be widely used in teaching elementary, middle and high school students. Bell’s method books are still widely used today.
Shortly after his retirement from Indiana University in 1971, Bell fell ill during a visit to Iowa in 1971 and was brought to Perry, where his sister, Mrs. Ruth Rankin, lived. Bell spent the last months of his life in Perry, passing away Aug. 7, 1971. He is buried in Violet Hill Cemetery.
