In 1953 in Emporia, Kansas, Alvin King, the owner of a shoe repair shop, had the idea to expand Armistice Day to celebrate all veterans, not just those who died in World War I.  Congress amended this act on June 1, 1954, replacing “Armistice” with “Veterans,” and it has been known as Veterans Day ever since.

The holiday is often celebrated by having a ravioli meal. This tradition dates back to the ending days of World War I when President Woodrow Wilson, aware that the returning soldiers would be longing for home cooked meals, invited 2,000 soldiers to the White House and helped his staff chefs cook them ravioli, which had just become a mainstay in mainstream American kitchens.

Star Spangled Banner

It is well known that Francis Scott Key (1779 – 1843), an attorney and gifted amateur poet, penned the words to The Star-Spangled Banner, while watching the British bombard Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor during the War of 1812.  Key had boarded a British troop ship to negotiate the release of an American civilian imprisoned by the British, and had been detained aboard as the bombardment began. On September 14, 1814, as the dawn’s early light revealed a flag flying over the fort, Key exultantly began jotting down the lines of the song that became our national anthem.

What is less known is that the tune to which Francis Scott Key fitted his words had a long history.  Key had already composed one other poem using the meter of the “Anacreontic Song” when he wrote “The Star Spangled Banner.” The melody was composed around 1770 by John Stafford Smith (1750 – 1836), a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal, for the use of the London Anacreontic Society, a convivial music club dedicated to the pursuits of its namesake, Anacreon, an ancient Greek writer of love poems and drinking songs.

“The Star-Spangled Banner” was officially designated as our national anthem in 1931, although in 1916 President Woodrow Wilson ordered that it be played at military events. Its debut at a baseball game came during the 1918 World Series, when it was sung during the 7th inning stretch to honor American servicemen. However, the tradition of performing the national anthem before every baseball game began in World War II.  Today “The Star-Spangled Banner” is traditionally played at the beginning of public sports events and orchestral concerts, as well as other public gatherings in the U.S.

Francis Scott Key’s song established a new prominence for the flag as an expression of national identity, unity, and pride. And by giving the flag a name-that Star-Spangled Banner-Key transformed the official emblem into a familiar symbol that Americans could embrace; it became a representation of the country’s values and the ideals for which it stands.

Symphony #9 in E minor (“From the New World”), Op. 95, B. 178

Born and raised a Bohemian peasant, Antonín Leopold Dvořák (1841 – 1904) never strayed far from his roots. Passionate about his homeland,Dvořák’s compositions were directly inspired by Czech traditional music.Dvořák had achieved great fame as an ardent champion of his beloved Czech music, fluently melding folk-tinged melodies into classical forms.

From 1857 to 1859 he studied music in Prague’s only organ school, and gradually developed into an accomplished violin and viola player. In 1890, influenced by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Dvořák visited Russia, and conducted the orchestras in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

In 1892, Dvořák moved to America to work as the artistic director for the National Conservatory of Music in New York.  Dvořák’s main goal in America was to discover “American Music” and engage in it, much as he had used Czech folk idioms within his music.

Dvořák stated, “I am convinced that the future music of this country [U.S.] must be founded on what are called Negro melodies. These can be the foundation of a serious and original school of composition, to be developed in the United States. These beautiful and varied themes are the product of the soil. They are the folk songs of America and your composers must turn to them.”

Symphony No. 9 was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, and premiered on December 16, 1893 at Carnegie Hall.  When Dvořák returned home in 1895, he left behind a legacy – a piece of serious music that somehow managed to embody and convey the American spirit.

This piece has four movements:

The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 – 1893) was a Russian composer of theRomantic era. He wrote some of the most popular concert and theatrical music in the classical repertoire, including the ballets “Swan Lake,” “The Sleeping Beauty” and “The Nutcracker,” the “1812 Overture,” his First Piano Concerto, his last three numbered symphonies, and the opera “Eugene Onegin.”

“The Nutcracker,” a two-act ballet, was given its première in St. Petersburg in December 1892.  Although the original ballet production was not a success, the twenty-minute suite that Tchaikovsky extracted from the ballet was.  Tchaikovsky’s selection of eight of the numbers from the ballet before the ballet’s première formed “The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a,” intended for concert performance. The suite was featured in Disney‘s “Fantasia.”  “The Nutcracker Suite” should not be mistaken for the complete ballet which did not begin to achieve a great measure of appreciation until after the 1954George Balanchine staging became a hit in New York City.  However, the complete Nutcracker has enjoyed enormous popularity since the mid-20th century and is now performed by countless ballet companies.

The outline below represents the selection and sequence of “TheNutcracker Suite” culled by the composer.

ARMED FORCES SALUTE

Arranged by Robert Lowden (1920-1999), “Armed Forces Salute” is a spirited medley of tunes saluting the military services of the United States with their respective songs.

Lowden was a prolific composer, arranger, and renowned clarinetist whose music reached far beyond the borders of his native New Jersey. He penned over 400 advertising jingles in his long career, but orchestras and bands know him for his many arrangements of popular and show tunes. Lowden studied to be a music educator at Temple University. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army Band. He wrote for the Somerset label and its feature group, 101 Strings. He served as the lead arranger for the Philadelphia Pops and often took a bow at performances of his works by the Ocean City Pops at the Music Pier.

Second Annual

Wednesday, May 11 and/or Thursday, May 12

6:00-8:00 PM Workshop for Violin & Viola – All Ages – $25pp Maestro Alex Agrest, Director of the Summerville Community Orchestra will lead two intensive workshops for mid-level and advanced violin and viola. Each musician is invited to attend one or both workshops offered. Musicians need to bring their own instruments. You’ll learn to express musical ideas better and play with passion by sharpening technical issues, enhance the perfect bow arm technique, master the mystery of shifting, and maximize the miracle of vibrato.

Location: Rollings Middle School of the Arts Auditorium, 815 S.Main Street, Summerville

Visit www.sculptureinthesouth.com to print your enrollment form or contact the Sculpture in the South office at

843-851-7800 or askus@sculptureinthesouth.com

Sculpture in the South is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting sculpture through education and the creation of a permanent public sculpture collection that enhances Summerville’s public spaces. Since 1999, the organization has installed 21pieces of sculpture and created Arts Education Week.

The Summerville Community Orchestra is a proud partner of Arts Education Week (May 7-13, 2011)

With Music Director Alexander Agrest, the SCO
presents A Solar System concert including Holst’s
The Planets, Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony and more.

June 6 at 7pm

Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul
126 Coming Street
Charleston, SC

Tickets: $11.

BY PHONE AND ON-LINE:
Payable with Visa®, MasterCard®,
Discover®, or American Express®
Piccolo Spoleto Ticket Hotline: 1-866-811-4111
Mon.-Fri. 9am-9pm
Sat.-Sun. 10am-6pm

Online at www.piccolospoleto.com

Additional convenience fees may apply.

The SCO Guild Presents A May Day Afternoon Tea Sunday May 1st

at Linwood Bed and Breakfast
200 S. Palmetto, Summerville, SC

Seating’s at 2:30 or 4:30

$20 per person
Proceed Support
the Summerville Community Orchestra

May Day Menu

English tea
Heavy hors d’oeuvres
Delectable Desserts
Live Music
Entertainment

Tickets are available at:

- the SCO Office
– Finishing Touch
– Marigolds
– SCO Guild member(s)
– or by Call 224-4133 for more information!

Purchase your ticket(s) online

Tea Time

2:30 pm May 1st 4:30 pm May 1st