On May 13, 2020, "The President's Own" will release its March 11, 2019, concert "Anthems," as an online streaming event. The series can be streamed at www.youtube.com/usmarineband.
The year 2019 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of the great American poet, author, and patriot Walt Whitman. The essence of much of Whitman’s work may be captured within the word “anthem.” His language was one of praise, whether praise for music, for heroism, for nature, or for the human spirit. Whitman observed and elevated common events around him as defining elements of the American experience and celebrated them as virtues in his remarkable prose. In celebration of this special anniversary, the Marine Band has partnered with the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation and the Choral Arts Society of Washington to commission a new work for chorus and band from American composer Dominick DiOrio based on Whitman’s works. Along with the world première of DiOrio’s Silent Moves the Symphony True, the program includes substantial works that also serve as anthems in diverse and interesting ways, culminating with one of the very first symphonies composed for wind band, Hector Berlioz’s monumental Symphonie funèbre et triomphale. The Choral Arts Society of Washington joins the Marine Band for this very special gala concert at the Music Center at Strathmore.
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