I’ve got one more anthem for you. Jazz is the most originally American style of music and if there is a jazz tune that everyone identifies with that genre, it is “Take Five”, written by alto sax man Paul Desmond and performed by the Dave Brubeck Quartet. ...
written by
Laura Lee Everett
Norworth/von Tilzer: Take Me Out To the Ballgame
I love baseball. Seriously. Love. Baseball. I’m sure there are many of you who know the pure joy of sitting in the stands on a warm summer day, watching the home team play with verve and amazing athleticism, sipping an ice cold drink, and eating food that is totally...
Verdi: Va, pensiero
There is another “unofficial anthem” that I have a great fondness for – mostly because Verdi wrote it. Italy had several National Anthems dating back to 1871, though the current anthem "Il Canto degli Italiani" was adopted in 1946 in the post WW2 declaration of the...
Berlin: God Bless America
Speaking of anthems, patriotic songs and sports events, there has recently been a bit of upheaval in the sports reporting world about the singing of “God Bless America” (or the playing of it, at least) during the 7th Inning stretch at baseball games. Major League...
Francis Scott Key: The Star Spangled Banner
Happy July 4th, everybody! America’s birthday, Independence Day, the day famously commemorated with over-eating, fireworks and some spectacular musical celebrations that include the playing of our National Anthem. Most countries in our world have a National Anthem,...
Strauss: The Composer’s Aria
This week our SoTD curator is Laura Lee Everett, the Director of Artistic Services at OPERA America, who’s had a long and varied career in opera—stage managing, mentoring young artists, facilitating the creation of new works, and more—at companies all across the U.S.,...