Banner Moment #4: Inspiration—Key Witnesses American Victory (& History)

Banner Moments History Series (Forward / Back) Banner Moments Series (Forward / Back)

Banner Moment #3—August 19, 1813—Garrison Flag Delivered to Fort McHenry

Banner Moments History Series (forward / back) Banner Moments History Series (forward / back)

Banner Moment #2—Oct. 3, 1787—First Documented Performance of the Melody

Banner Moments History Series (forward / back) While “The Anacreontic Song” was written in 1775 or ’76, The London Times (which believe it or not reported and reviewed Anacreontic Society meetings) did not start publishing until ten years later, so the first mention of a performance of the melody that Francis Scott Key would use…

Banner Moment #1—August 1, 1779—Francis Scott Key is Born

Banner Moment History Series (forward / back) Banner Moment History Series (forward / back)

Banner Moments: A Quick History of Francis Scott Key's Anthem

Our Banner Moments exhibit is available to display in your town!

On Thursday, September 12 in honor of Star Spangled Music Day, a dazzling exhibit will open in celebration of the #Anthem200 anniversary. Titled “Banner Moments: The National Anthem in American Life,” the exhibit features items from collections drawn across the University of Michigan’s archival holdings, including one of the dozen or so surviving copies of…

Music & Poetry of the Harlem Renaissance

The Star Spangled Banner Echoed in the Literature and Music of the Harlem Renaissance Music/Library ScienceGrade Levels (9, 10)Julia Loving, School Media SpecialistPelham Preparatory Academy Description Using print and non-print resources available in the school library, students will research the themes and sentiments of Francis Scott Key’s Star Spangled Banner in relation to the literature and music of…

Star Spangled Festival Performance

The Star Spangled Banner Anthem: Celebrating the origin and meaning through performance Information Literacy/Interdisciplinary Arts Grades 9-12 Brenda J. Cowe- School Library Media Specialist Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts Students from choral and instrumental music, theater, dance, visual art and communications will work together to create a creative exploration performance that tells the story…

Singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" in Non-Music Classrooms

OVERVIEW by Mary L.Vincent – Monroe Public Schools This lesson series is a compilation of 5 short videos lessons (each approximately 6 minutes long) that help students rehearse singing “The Star-Spangled Banner.”  The videos integrate relevant locations and historical perspectives related to the national anthem. This lesson series also aims to make singing the Star-Spangled Banner…

Star Spangled "Festival Overture" To Be Premiered by Reno Orchestra & Laura Jackson

On the Fourth of July at Lake Tahoe, Maestro Laura Jackson and the Reno Philharmonic Orchestra will premiere a new “Star Spangled Music Edition” of American composer Dudley Buck’s “Festival Overture on the American National Air” (1879). The Reno orchestra  commissioned and premiered Michael Gandolfi’s patriotic cantata Chesapeake: Summer of 1814, last year.One of America’s…

Spangled Mythconception #7: An Official Version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" Exists

MYTH #7: There is a sanctioned traditional or otherwise official version of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”CORRECTION: The 1931 act making Key’s song America’s anthem does not identify an official arrangement, in part because the song as sung in the 20th-c. had already departed from what Francis Scott Key had known. During World War I, attempts were…