Music in the Life of Eisenhower.

APRIL 7, 2019 - 4:PM

The “Music in the Life of Eisenhower” concert is being presented free of charge on a first-come, first-served basis.  If you register in advance, you will be guaranteed a seat, unless we inform you that seats are no longer available.  

A complimentary reception follows the concert. All concert parking is free.

Music in the Life of Eisenhower” on April 7th will commemorate the 75thAnniversary of D-Day, June 6, 2019.

Music Director David Grandis and Virginia Chamber Orchestra will be joined by Narrator Robert Aubry Davis from National Public Television’s WETA; the Airmen of Note, the premier jazz ensemble of the U.S. Air Force; and the select Pro Coro singers from the Alexandria Choral Society. Davis will provide insights about Eisenhower’s musical favorites--selected from lists by reliable sources and recordings in his personal collection-- and will share what they reveal about him.

As Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in Europe during World War II, General Eisenhower placed great importance on maintaining high morale of the troops.  Music was an essential part of his strategy.  He enthusiastically encouraged the major contributions of Irving Berlin, Glenn Miller, and Glenn Miller’s Army Air Force Band. The Airmen of Note, founded to continue the Glenn Miller Band tradition, will perform Miller’s signature songs, and the Pro Coro singers and orchestra will perform Berlin’s “God Bless America, sometimes called the “second national anthem.”

The program will also include music performed at White House events hosted by Ike and Mamie, and Ike’s personal favorites, from a West Point song and a folk tune to music from a hit Broadway show.

The orchestra returns to the Ernst Center on April 7th, 2019 with an uplifting new “Music of the Presidents” concert commemorating Eisenhower and the upcoming 75th Anniversary of D-Day. Narration by Robert Aubry Davis will highlight Ike’s association with Irving Berlin and Glenn Miller. The VCO and David Grandis will be joined by the select Pro Coro singers and the Airmen of Note, the premier jazz ensemble of the U.S. Air Force, playing original Glenn Miller arrangements.  

Music and narration from this concert will be combined with in-studio discussion by nationally known experts and students for a video program.  Used in countless classrooms for the foreseeable future, the video will also be screened for the general public and life long learners

Music of the Presidents

concert commemorating Eisenhower and the upcoming 75th Anniversary of D-Day. Narration by Robert Aubry Davis will highlight Ike’s association with Irving Berlin and Glenn Miller. 

Music and narration from this concert will be combined with in-studio discussion by nationally known experts and students for a video program.

Remember: The VCO does not mail tickets; tickets may be picked up at the concert

Piece

 Composer

Symphony No. 4 in A major,
Op. 80 (Italian), Allegro Vivace
Felix Mendelssohn
Roses of Picardy Haydon Wood
Fantasia on Greensleeves Ralph Vaughan Williams
Oklahoma Selections for Orchestra Richard Rogers,
arr. Robert Russell Bennett

Virginia Chamber Orchestra
David Grandis, Music Director

Piece

 Composer

Lead Kindly Light John B. Dykes
words by John Henry Newman
Deep River Anonymous
Army Blue George  R. Poulton
words by L.W. Becklaw
God Bless America Irving Berlin

Pro Coro Singers and VCO
David Grandis,  Conductor

Piece

 Composer

St Louis Blues  March W.C. Handy/Glenn Miller
Moonlight Serenade Glenn Miller

Airmen of Note

Piece

 Composer

Selection of Glenn Miller favorites Glenn Miller

VENUE