Alabama Salutes Armed Forces and an American Treasure
For their November pops concert, principal pops conductor Christopher Confessore and the Alabama Symphony Orchestra are exploring two facets of American history using our multimedia pieces.
During the first half of their “Salute to the Armed Forces” concert, the ASO’s audience will hear the hauntingly beautiful third movement from Vaughan Williams’ Symphony No. 5 while watching Citizen Soldier, a montage of several hundred black-and-white photographs from World War II, choreographed and live-cued to the orchestra’s performance.
Citizen Soldier commemorates the ongoing 75th anniversary of WWII. Nicholas assembled it and a WWI companion piece, No Man’s Land, from the digital photo archives of over a dozen countries.
During the second half of the concert, the ASO will bring into their hall giant-screen imagery from one of America’s most celebrated natural wonders, the Grand Canyon. Their second photochoreography piece, Grand Canyon Country, is set to Grofé’s Grand Canyon Suite and has been performed by many orchestras around the US since Arizona’s state centennial in 2012, when it was co-commissioned by the principal orchestras of Tucson and Phoenix.
Along with patriotic-themed music, the symphony will perform Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man. The accompanying short concert piece, American Fanfare, will highlight some of America’s most cherished natural wonders and national shrines, from east to west coasts.
The day before the pops concert, the ASO will be presenting two of our multimedia pieces for an educational concert. They will also be hosting a special donor appreciation event that night, with Nicholas as the guest speaker.
