It may not have looked much like Christmas on the campus of University of Pittsburgh at Bradford on Wednesday night, but it sure sounded like it inside the Bromeley Family Theater.

The Boston Brass septet kicked off their holiday season with a concert of holiday favorites. The musicians took the stage and launched into “Joy to The World.”
“It’s an absolute pleasure to be here,” said Jeff Conner, trumpet player and original band member. “We’re going to play some of our favorite holiday music and talk about some of our favorite Christmas memories.”

He started off the storytelling portion of the show, explaining he grew up outside Boston and would go see the Boston Pops each year at Christmas time. The group then played a Boston Pops staple, “Sleigh Ride.”

The musicians stood behind music stands with simple decorations — a stocking on the front of each one, with a Christmas gift bag beneath it. Yet when the the group started up another holiday favorite tune, it was easy to imagine sitting before an open fire, drinking hot cocoa while the lights of the Christmas tree played across the room.

Speaking of fire, the Christmas memory shared by trombonist Domingo Pagliuca had a scary twist. Growing up in Venezuela, he didn’t have snow. But his mother made an effort to show her sons what it would be like. She decorated the tree with some cotton, along with lights and tinsel — until he lit the tree on fire and blamed it on his brother.

Tuba player Sam Pilafian talked about the wonderful memories associated with Christmas.

“It’s an annual accounting of how things are going,” he said. It’s a time usually spent with family who don’t have a chance to visit more often, and a time for wonder and joy.

He introduced “Invierno Porteno” and said, “We invite you to get lost in (the song) and really think about Christmas.”

Perhaps the highlight of the first half of the show was when the Pitt-Bradford vocal arts ensemble joined the Boston Brass on stage. Joshua Groffman directed the group through “The Journey Home” and “Ave Maria.”

The audience sat transfixed through the performance.

The easygoing manner with which the musicians addressed the crowd, sharing personal memories, was a perfect complement to the brass septet.

Along with Conner, Paglucia and Pilafian, the septet consists of Jose Sibaja on trumpet, Chris Castellanos on horn, Dan Hostetler on drums and Chuck Redd on vibraphone.

The show was part of Pitt-Bradford’s Prism series.