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MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (Sept. 4, 2014) — The Milligan College music program will join a national celebration of the “Star-Spangled Banner’s” 200th anniversary with a patriotic concert on Saturday, Sept. 27, at 7 p.m. in the Mary B. Martin Auditorium in Seeger Chapel.
The performance will feature a collaboration of Milligan’s Brass Choir, Concert Choir, Orchestra and Women’s Chorale. Nearly 100 students from area high school choirs also will perform, including Daniel Boone, David Crockett, North Greene, Sullivan Central, University and Volunteer high schools.
“The Milligan music department is pleased to join in this national celebration of the ‘Star-Spangled Banner’s’ birthday and to be able to involve area high school singers in the mass choir for such a special event,” said Dr. Kellie Brown, chair of the music area.
The concert will feature multiple versions of America’s anthem, based off of a poem by Francis Scott Key, an American soldier in the War of 1812 who searched the sky on Sept. 14, 1814, amidst the smoke and debris at Fort McHenry to find that “our flag was still there.”
Other patriotic pieces include selections from Randall Thompson’s “The Testament of Freedom”; “Homeland,” by Randall Stroope; “Ashokan Farewell,” from “The Civil War,” a documentary by Ken Burns; music from the HBO series “Band of Brothers”; as well as a musical tribute to veterans.
The Milligan Brass Choir is directed by Rick Simerly, associate professor of music; the Concert Choir, by Noah DeLong, assistant professor of music; the Orchestra, by Kellie Brown; and the Women’s Chorale, by Anne Elliott, assistant professor of music. David Runner, professor of music, will be featured on the organ.
The event is part of a national celebration that is going on all over the country, including events at the Smithsonian. Visit www.starspangledmusic.org to learn more.
This event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.milligan.edu/arts.