Gershwin, Copland, James Price Johnson, and SoCal premiere of Visions of Humanity & Unity
PROGRAM NOTES for 10/10/26
Star-Spangled Banner – John Stafford Smith
In September, 1814, John Stafford Smith was asked by his brother-in-law, Francis Scott Key, to set to music the poem Key had recently written to celebrate the victory of American patriot forces in defending Baltimore’s Fort McHenry from the Royal Navy. The War of 1812 had pitted the British against the newly independent United States as players in a larger conflict that also involved Canada and France. Defeating this existential threat to the sovereignty of the USA, just 36 years after the success of the American Revolution, was paramount. The battle that inspired Key to compose his stirring poem proved to be a turning point in the war. His patriotic anthem “The Star-Spangled Banner” – inspired by the appearance at dawn, after a fierce overnight battle, of a huge American flag still flying over the fort – turned into a rallying cry for resilience, determination, and pride in defending American independence. The war ended in December 1814, and the Star-Spangled Banner gained popularity with Americans. By 1889, the U.S. Navy had incorporated it into ceremonial flag raisings, and in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson announced it, unofficially, as the “national anthem.” This status was ratified by Congress on March 3, 1931, and signed into law by President Herbert Hoover.
Online Content:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stafford_Smith
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/francis-scott-key-the-reluctant-patriot-180937178/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Star-Spangled_Banner#
Fanfare for the Common Man – Aaron Copland
Eighty-five years ago – still exhausted after deep losses suffered in World War I, “The Great War,” and the Depression – the United States was doing its best to steer clear of involvement in World War II. Tragically, necessity banished reluctance after Japanese Kamikazes devastated the American fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. Within days, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the American Congress declared the U.S. at war with Japan, Germany, and Italy.
Throughout the nation, there followed a wave of patriotic fervor that reached into every crevice and corner of American society. In the world of music, the conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra launched a project to commission composers to write patriotic fanfares that would be performed at the start of upcoming concerts as “stirring and significant contributions to the war effort.” Eighteen works were written and performed, composed by a Who’s Who roster of mid-20th century musicians including Morton Gould, Howard Hanson, William Grant Still, and Virgil Thomson.
“Fanfare for the Common Man” was Aaron Copland’s contribution. Today, it is the only one of the 18 works that has secured a renowned place in the standard repertoire. Copland considered various names for his work; to honor Democracy, the Four Freedoms, Solemn Ceremony, and more. He later reflected on his final choice as follows: “– it was the common man, after all, who was doing all the dirty work in the war and the army. He deserves a fanfare.”
Online content
https://pearlharbor.org/pearl-harbor-history/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanfares_(Goossens)
Visions of Humanity & Unity: 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence
This newly-commissioned suite of five movements honors and celebrates the ideals of humanism, diversity, acceptance, and freedom enshrined in the U.S. Declaration of Independence on the occasion of its 250th Anniversary in 2026. A consortium of 9 orchestras supported the project to illuminate and champion the seminal principles it expresses, interpreted for cello and orchestra. Each of the five composers commissioned for this project took a particular phrase from the Declaration document as their inspiration and contribution. brought to the project a style enriched by their drastically different cultural backgrounds, and each brings their unique perspective and life experience to their vibrant musical visions of harmony and unity for humanity.
The complete work received its world premiere on August 8, 2026, with Zuill Bailey on cello and the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Eckart Preu as part of Summermusik in Cincinnati. Tonight’s performance in Long Beach marks the composition’s Southern California premiere.
The movements are explained here in the composers’ own words, listed here in order of presentation:
Chanda Dancy – Intermezzo
As a part of the “Visions Of Humanity” piece, “Intermezzo In Soul” celebrates the beautiful and complicated soul of our great country through the lens of the Black American experience with orchestral colors of Blues, Soul, Jazz and Spirituals in a lyrical and cinematic work that highlights the hope, longing and boundless optimism of the American spirit.
Avner Dorman – Repeated Petitions
I found myself struck less by the famous opening preamble and more by what follows: the exhaustive list of grievances and the concept of “repeated petitions.” I was moved by the image of the colonists arguing, reasoning, and trying again—exhausting every verbal and intellectual resource before finally taking responsibility for their own freedom. […] I wanted to celebrate freedom not as a finished gift, but as something precious, unfinished, and inextricably linked to responsibility. Ultimately, freedom is something we must keep petitioning for: constantly asking who is free, what we are protecting, and what still needs to change.
Zhou Tian – Elegy
“Elegy” offers a moment of remembrance—honoring those whose sacrifices, struggles, and hopes have shaped the nation across generations. The solo cello serves as a solitary voice, singing over luminous string textures in a meditation on resilience, compassion, and the enduring pursuit of unity.
Enrico Chapela – Alebrije
An alebrije is a traditional Mexican folk art figure representing a fantastical creature made by combining characteristics of different real or imaginary animals. Alebrijes are typically painted in vivid colors and intricate patterns. I chose this image as the title of the movement I was commissioned to write for the Visions of Humanity project, since it is part of a work composed by five different composers, each contributing their own culture and musical language.
Mark O’Connor – Fiddler Coming Home
I am known as an American-styled composer and string-player, so I welcome the task here. When I compose my American music, the conceptualizations seem to always include our beautiful habitat and natural world, the human condition and nostalgia for the best parts of our past, the ongoing struggle in racial reconciliation defining the American experience as well as its artforms, our collective hope and optimism for a better future, and always the longing to be more free.
Online Content
https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript
James Price Johnson – Harlem Symphony
Harlem Symphony composer James P. Johnson is probably the most important American jazz musician you never heard of. His list of “firsts” is stunning, as is his cadre of close associates: Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Bessie Smith, Ethel Waters… giants, all. A virtuosic and innovative jazz pianist, he invented the “Harlem Stride
Piano” style and his 1921 recording of the Stride classic “Carolina Shout” holds the distinction of being the first jazz
piano solo on record. As a popular performer in the 1920s, no one eclipsed his talent. Then, in 1923, he composed the Broadway show Runnin’ Wild, and the iconic tune “Charleston” went viral, launching the dance craze that defined the “Roaring 20s.”
Popular success in jazz and on Broadway was not enough for the genius Johnson who also aspired to be a serious composer, striving to meld signature African American musical themes with symphonic art forms. His Harlem Symphony from 1932 takes the listener through four movements depicting views of African American lives in their rich and storied community. “A Subway Journey,” “Song of Harlem,” “Night Club,” and “Baptist Mission” combine to present a full sweep of musical narratives depicting the Harlem he knew, rendered for full orchestra in musical technicolor.
Fun fact: Johnson’s “serious” orchestral manuscripts were lost for 35 years after his death. Maestra Marin Alsop and Johnson biographer Scott E. Brown eventually persuaded Johnson’s daughter to allow them access to boxed Johnson family archives, and – Eureka! – the scores were rediscovered!
Online Content
https://www.jpjohnsonmusic.com/father
https://syncopatedtimes.com/james-p-johnson-forgotten-musical-genius/
https://www.jpjohnsonmusic.com/harlem-symphony
https://www.jpjohnsonmusic.com/biography
https://www.jpjohnsonmusic.com/discovery
George Gershwin – Overture from Strike Up the Band
Closing tonight’s program is the orchestral concert version of George Gershwin’s Overture to his Depression-era Broadway musical Strike Up the Band. Opening on January 14, 1930, just three months after the Black Tuesday stock market panic that launched the Depression, American theatergoers who could still afford attending were hungry for stage fare that poked satiric fun at Big Business while still generating happy endings. The new show’s preposterous and convoluted premise involves machinations by a Wisconsin chocolate baron plotting to orchestrate tariffs on Switzerland over chocolate imports. International conflict ensues, amidst multiple romantic trysts and triangles. Audiences, eager to be carried away for a while, loved it and even as the Depression worsened, it ran for a respectable 191 performances. Gershwin later arranged this concert version of the overture, which good-naturedly brings together the themes of chest-pounding bombast with genuine national pride.
Fun fact: Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland starred in Strike Up the Band for MGM in 1940, but the project has no ties to the Gershwin Broadway show… except for the title song.
Online Content
https://static.qobuz.com/goodies/80/000188608.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strike_Up_the_Band_(musical)
https://www.history.com/articles/1929-stock-market-crash