North Texas

Celebrating July 4th with the Music of America

Patriotic music will fill North Texas gardens and concert halls for the July Fourth holiday

Friends and families will gather together to honor this nation’s Independence Day with food, fireworks, and the music that uniquely represents America’s history and culture.

The Dallas Wind Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, and Plano Symphony Orchestra are offering concerts that will feature the soundtrack of this nation.

Each orchestra takes a different approach to deciding which pieces to include in the patriotic concerts.

Daniel Black, the associate conductor of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, will direct this year’s Independence Day concert at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden from July 2 – 4.

He gravitates towards the iconic music of Aaron Copland’s uniquely American sound and John Philip Sousa’s marches. Baritone Trevor Martin, one of Fort Worth Opera’s Young Artists, will be singing several of Copland’s Old American Songs.

Black said he wants to add local flair to the concert.

“I wanted to highlight the music of a local musician this year, Sterling Procter. Sterling played horn for the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra for many years, but had to retire due to a degenerative muscular illness that made it impossible for him to keep playing. He is also a wonderful composer and arranger, so I decided to open the concert with his ‘Festival Fanfare.'”

Robert Reed, the executive director of the Plano Symphony Orchestra, showcases music that is historically associated with the nation and reflects the beauty of the country and its citizens at the orchestra’s Patriotic Pops concert at the Charles W. Eisemann Center for the Performing Arts in Richardson on July 4.

Reed said he wants the concert to serve as a tribute to those who have served in the military.

“The tribute is thrilling to the point of tears. It includes the songs of each of the five branches of the military: Air Force, Army, Navy, Coast Guard and Marines. We have representative service members on stage during each of their branch’s song. We ask current and former service members in the audience to stand when their song is played. This tribute is just a small token of appreciation to those who gave their lives for freedom.”

Kim Campbell, the founder and executive director of Dallas Wind Symphony, said she will also be moved to tears during the symphony’s Piccolos & Patriots: A Star-Spangled Spectacular at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center on July 4 when the symphony plays the first unmistakable four bars of John Philip Sousa’s “The Stars and Stripes Forever."

Dallas Wind Symphony’s patriotic concert features the music of John Philip Sousa, George M. Cohan and Irving Berlin.

“Each of them loved our country deeply and were all proud to be called an American,” Campbell said.

Campbell selects music that a given generation might call the music of their lives or music that speaks to a historical event. Much of the music is heard at every Independence Day celebration across the United States of America.

Year after year, in big cities and small towns, people celebrate the birth of this nation by listening to the same music that been played and heard across the generations. Reed said he understands the music’s timeless appeal.

“Patriotic music describes the heart of the American people, their love for their country, and the strength of their commitment to our great nation,” Reed said.

Patriotic music is one of America’s greatest unifying force, Black said.

“We as a nation find it important to celebrate our common culture and our history,” Black said.

“In a way, this is more important to Americans than to other countries, because this country - more than any other - is a country of immigrants, a melting pot of people with different cultures, histories, and traditions," Black said. "Our patriotic national holidays like Independence Day remind us of the things that we have in common, even from such disparate backgrounds, and what unites us as a nation and a people.”

Campbell agreed, saying that the holiday was a rare occasion that celebrates the uniqueness of America. 

“It is that rare moment when we can proudly stand together, as one united people and simply be Americans,” Campbell said.

Find more 4th of July events here at GuideLive.com.

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