Alton Augustus Adams, Sr. (1889–1987) was a pioneering performer, composer, educator, and author who advanced the band culture of the Virgin Islands. A flutist and piccolo player, he founded the Adams Juvenile Band in 1910, teaching each of its musicians and drilling the ensemble to such a professional standard that the unit was inducted as…
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Abolitionist Star Spangled Banner —"Oh Say, Do You Hear?" (1844)
In the 19th-century, the music and words known today as the national anthem of the United States —”The Star-Spangled Banner”—was deeply associated with American identity but just one of many patriotic songs. All of America’s patriotic songs were part of an ongoing cultural dialogue known as the broadside ballad tradition. New lyrics were written to…
Star-Spangled Myth #8: Igor Stravinsky's Mug Shot & "Illegal" Anthem
MYTH #8: A mug shot offers proof of composer Igor Stravinsky’s arrest by the Boston Police for desecrating a national symbol after conducting a performance of his own arrangement of “The Star-Spangled Banner” with the Boston Symphony. CORRECTION: The supposed mug shot is actually part of Stravinsky’s 1940 visa application for residence in the United…
Star Spangled Songbook Published!
Our book of sheet music and anthem history—the Star Spangled Songbook—has been published to mark the song’s 201st anniversary!The Star Spangled Songbook tells a largely forgotten story of the United States of America—of the symbiosis of both anthem and nation—in more than seventy songs with full text and performable sheet music. These all-new scholarly editions…
A Celebration of Two Centuries of a Song — 4PM Live Stream
Two hundred years ago today, the “dawn’s early light” broke over Fort McHenry and illuminated a flag symbolizing resilience and courage. Two hundred years later, the song written by Francis Scott Key in praise of the fort’s defenders still waves over the nation, celebrating the commitment of American citizens to the day-to-day requirements of democracy.Today…
Banner Moment #7—March 3, 1931—Key's Song Made Official U.S. Anthem by Congress
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Banner Moment #6: Jan. 8, 1917—Key's Song Named "National Anthem" of U.S. Military
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Banner Moments #5: Holmes Adds Civil War Verse to Anthem
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Proudly We Hail! MMB #Anthem200 Halftime Show
RED, WHITE & “GO BLUE!” (Click Here to View Video of the Show) U-M TO HOST ONE OF NATION’S BIGGEST CELEBRATIONS FOR NATIONAL ANTHEM’S 200th BIRTHDAY Michigan Marching Band to perform half-time extravaganza in celebration of “The Star Spangled Banner” bicentennial September 13, 2014, (Ann Arbor, MI) – The University of Michigan will be home…
Banner Moment #4: Inspiration—Key Witnesses American Victory (& History)
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