All-American Composers During Classical Music Hours
Friday, July 4 to Sunday, July 6
Patriotic music, works by composers including Hershy Kay, Morton Gould, and Peter Boyer
Leroy Anderson Tribute?
Sunday, July 6?
3 to 5 pm
Great Singers and Big Swingers During Jazz Hours
Thursday, July 3 to Monday, July 7 ?
Big bands, classic vocalists, and new releases by American jazz artists?
Riverwalk Jazz BBQ
Sunday, July 6?
6 to 7 pmClassical Highlights
Tune in during classical music hours for selections reaching back to the birth of our nation, all the way to the present. You'll hear music by Philadelphia-born composer and arranger Hershy Kay from the ballet Stars and Stripes, featuring arrangements of works by John Philip Sousa. American Ballads: Settings of American Tunes for Orchestra by the great American composer, conductor, and pianist Morton Gould will also be featured; this is one of the three commissioned pieces Gould composed in 1976 for the U.S. bicentennial. In addition we'll bring you Ellis Island: The Dream of America by composer Peter Boyer. Written in 2002, it combines first-person narrations of seven immigrants who entered the United States through Ellis Island between 1910 and 1940 with Boyer's original orchestral music.
On Sunday July 6, from 3 to 5 pm, don't miss the Leroy Anderson Tribute. The composer of popular light orchestral music, including miniatures such as The Syncopated Clock, Bugler's Holiday, and Sleigh Ride, would have turned 100 years old on June 28th. WRTI celebrates the anniversary of Anderson's birth with a two-hour musical tribute hosted by Leonard Slatkin and the composer's son, Kurt Anderson.
Jazz Highlights
Join us from Friday night of the holiday weekend through the following Monday morning to hear your favorite big bands and classic vocalists during regular jazz hours. How often do you hear Frank Sinatra singing in front of Tommy Dorsey, or Cab Calloway's band swingin' out of your radio? And have you heard the Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra's new release? Harriet Tubman is a tribute to the Underground Railroad heroine; you'll hear it, and other new releases over the long holiday weekend. Celebrate American independence by being a keeper of the flame, and listening to music that will be honored forever.
The Jim Cullum Jazz Band will also be celebrating Independence Day on a special Riverwalk Jazz show on Sunday, July 6 from 6 to 7 pm. The world-renowned band will bring you a big slice of Americana as they perform at the Riverwalk Jazz BBQ. They will play the favorites as only they can!