50 states, 245 years of independence, over 331 million people today—the United States of America is built on a massive platform of human experiences. Independence Day celebrates the nation’s dedication to freedom and opportunity for all. While we have come a long way and have plenty further to go in fully living up to that cause, the 4th of July serves as a reminder of what, and who, makes America unique.
This summer, PARMA is celebrating Independence Day with music that nods to America, its land, and the many human experiences that make up the nation’s history and culture. Read on for some highlights of our new additions from this year’s new music inspired by America and its people.
Listen to the full playlist on your favorite streaming platform today.
A Portrait of Honor
Joshua Moshier
A Portrait of Honor is an original composition composed by Joshua Moshier for the U.S. Army Field Band, the U.S Army’s premiere touring ensemble. The band recorded this piece along with American commissions and film and video game classics for their album SOUNDTRACK OF THE AMERICAN SOLDIER at Skywalker Studios with five-time GRAMMY Award winning engineer Leslie Ann Jones.
“The central character reflects on past experiences, much like a flashback, and recalls many personal experiences in service. In the present, this character begins planting the seeds of leadership in those who will continue beyond them. Those seeds grow, and the cycle continues… I hope that my gratitude for the work of our servicemen and servicewomen shines through in the music we’ve created together.”
Composer Joshua Moshier
Conversations with Colonel Jim Keene and Producer Dan Merceruio
Protest Dancing
Anthony R. Green
Drawing on Black history, Massachusetts history, and Western classical music history, The Green Double: A Historical Dance Suite, performed by the Lowell Chamber Orchestra under the baton of Orlando Cela, is a musical expression of composer Anthony R. Green’s love of history, culture, flute music, and dancing that’s ripe with international flavor, artistic individualism, and human storytelling.
“Protest Dancing is inspired by Octavius Valentine Catto (1839 – 1871), an educator, intellectual, and civil rights activist. Having participated in protests myself, I was pleasantly surprised and comforted by the sense of community and the impromptu dancing that occurs … at least in the protests in which I was involved. I imagined Catto dancing in the midst of his activism, and used contemporary and historical musical vernaculars to draw together his world and mine.”
Anthony R. Green
The Inside Story: Orlando Cela and THE SUITE
Pieces of Road
Stuart Weber
Composer and Guitarist Stuart Weber conjures the essence and spirit of the American West on Pieces of Road. In a work inspired by the winters of his home state, Weber celebrates Montana landscapes in sound with the elaboration and care they justly deserve.
“I grew up in a land of sublime grandeur, where the great prairies seemed to have just crashed into the rocky mountain front. To the west there were just millions of rugged miles of wilderness, and to the east, stretches of rangeland.”
Stuart Weber
Hoedown
Aaron Copland
Pianist Richard Fountain performs this recording of Hoedown from famed American composer Aaron Copland. Listed on Fountain’s Navona Records album AMERICAN IVORY, this arrangement effuses the exuberance and vitality of American classical music.
“I hope this album reminds us to look around our communities and institutions here in the U.S. to find the great music that’s been written and continues to be written all the time, and to celebrate it along with the great works of Beethoven, Bach, Tchaikovsky, etc.”
Richard Fountain
