"America the Beautiful" is a patriotic American song. Its lyrics were written by Katharine Lee Bates and its music was composed by church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward at Grace Episcopal Church in Newark, New Jersey. The two never met.
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written by American lawyer Francis Scott Key on September 14, 1814, after he witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. Key was inspired by the large U.S. flag, with 15 stars and 15 stripes, known as the Star-Spangled Banner, flying triumphantly above the fort after the battle.
"Lift Every Voice and Sing" is a hymn with lyrics by James Weldon Johnson (1871–1938) and set to music by his brother, J. Rosamond Johnson (1873–1954). Written from the context of African Americans in the late 19th century, the hymn is a prayer of thanksgiving to God as well as a prayer for faithfulness and freedom, with imagery that evokes the biblical Exodus from slavery to the freedom of the "promised land."
In the United States, the term hyphenated American refers to the use of a hyphen between the name of an ethnicity and the word American in compound nouns, e.g., as in Irish-American. Calling a person a "hyphenated American" was used as an insult alleging divided political or national loyalties, especially in times of war. It was used from 1890 to 1920 to disparage Americans who were of foreign birth or ancestry and who displayed an affection for their ancestral heritage language and culture. It was most commonly used during World War I against Americans from White ethnic backgrounds who favored United States neutrality during the ongoing conflict or who opposed the idea of an American military alliance with the British Empire and the creation of what is now called the "Special Relationship", even for purely political reasons.
John Stafford Smith was a British composer, church organist, and early musicologist. He was one of the first serious collectors of manuscripts of works by Johann Sebastian Bach and a friend of his son Johann Christian Bach.
Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do original research on ways of teaching and learning music. Music education scholars publish their findings in peer-reviewed journals, and teach undergraduate and graduate education students at university education or music schools, who are training to become music teachers.
"The Star Spangled Banner" is a charity single recorded by American singer Whitney Houston to raise funds for soldiers and families of those involved in the Persian Gulf War. Written by Francis Scott Key and John Stafford Smith, "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The musical arrangement for Houston's rendition was by conductor John Clayton. The recording was produced by music coordinator Rickey Minor, along with Houston herself. The recording was included in the 2014 CD/DVD release, Whitney Houston Live: Her Greatest Performances and the US edition of the 2000 release, Whitney: The Greatest Hits.
As the national anthem of the United States, and even before its official adoption as the anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner" has been performed by a variety of people using different arrangements, a range of instruments, and in many different styles. Specific renditions of "The Star-Spangled Banner" are notable for reasons such as unique musical arrangements, memorable mistakes and poorly-received performances, significant cultural or social impacts, distinctive performance styles, and frequent use in broadcasts.
American patriotic music is a part of the culture and history of the United States since its foundation in the 18th Century. It has served to encourage feelings of honor both for the country's forefathers and for national unity. They include hymns, military themes, national songs, and musical numbers from stage and screen, as well as others adapted from many poems. Much of American patriotic music owes its origins to six main wars — the American Revolution, the American Indian Wars, the War of 1812, the Mexican–American War, the American Civil War, and the Spanish–American War. During the period prior to American independence, much of the country's patriotic music was aligned with the political ambitions of the British in the new land. And so, several songs are tied with the country's British origin.
"Nuestro Himno" is a Spanish-language version of the United States national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner". The debut of the translation came amid a growing controversy over immigration in the United States.
The Star-Spangled Banner, or the Great Garrison Flag, was the garrison flag that flew over Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor during the naval portion of the Battle of Baltimore during the War of 1812. It is on exhibit at the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. Seeing the flag flying over Fort McHenry on the morning of September 14, 1814, after the battle ended, Francis Scott Key was inspired to write the poem "Defence of Fort M'Henry". These words were written by Key and set to the tune of "To Anacreon in Heaven", a popular song at the time, by John Stafford Smith. In 1931 the song became the national anthem of the United States.
Rene Rancourt is an American singer who is best known for having performed the national anthem at home games of the National Hockey League's Boston Bruins for 42 years. Rancourt's final combined performance of both "The Star-Spangled Banner" and "O Canada" took place before Game 7 of the Bruins' Eastern Conference first round playoff series against the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 25, 2018. His final anthem performance, of "the Star-Spangled Banner" alone, took place on May 4, 2018, as Boston hosted Game 4 of the Eastern Conference second round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The National Association for Music Education (NAfME) is an organization of American music educators dedicated to advancing and preserving music education as part of the core curriculum of schools in the United States. Founded in 1907 as the Music Supervisors National Conference (MSNC), the organization was known from 1934 to 1998 as the Music Educators National Conference. From 1998 to 2011 it was known as "MENC: The National Association for Music Education." On September 1, 2011, the organization changed its acronym from MENC to NAfME. On March 8, 2012, the organization's name legally became National Association for Music Education, using the acronym "NAfME". It has approximately 45,000 members, and NAfME's headquarters are located in Herndon, Virginia
Clotilde Arias Chávarri Anduaga de Ferrero was a Peruvian-American lyricist and composer.
Long considered a sacred cow of American defense spending, U.S. federal military bands have periodically faced the prospect of decreased allocations in military budgets in proposals occasionally floated by lawmakers of the U.S. Democratic and Republican parties. Defunding efforts have generally been opposed by military leadership, veteran's groups, and music educators, and have largely been unsuccessful and short-lived.
Jere T. Humphreys is an American music scholar who applies historical, quantitative, philosophical, and sociological research methods to music education and arts business.
David G. Hebert is a musicologist and comparative educationist, employed as Professor of Music at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, where he leads the Grieg Academy Music Education (GAME) research group. He has contributed to the fields of music education, ethnomusicology, sociomusicology, comparative education, and East Asian Studies. Since 2018, he has been manager of the Nordic Network for Music Education, a multinational state-funded organization that sponsors intensive Master courses and exchange of university music lecturers and students across Northern Europe. He is also a visiting professor in Sweden with the Malmo Academy of Music at Lund University, and an honorary professor with the Education University of Hong Kong. He has previously been sponsored by East Asian governments as a visiting research scholar with Nichibunken in Kyoto, Japan, and the Central Conservatory of Music, in Beijing, China. He also serves in various leadership roles with the International Society for Music Education.
Protests during the playing of the United States national anthem have had many causes, including civil rights, anti-conscription, anti-war, anti-nationalism, and religious reservations. Such protests have occurred since at least the 1890s, well before "The Star-Spangled Banner" was adopted and resolved by Congress as the official national anthem in 1916 and 1931, respectively. Earlier protests typically took place during the performance of various unofficial national anthems, including "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" and "Hail, Columbia". These demonstrations may include refusal to stand or face the American flag during the playing of the Anthem. Some of the protestors object to honoring the slaveowner and author of the lyrics, Francis Scott Key.
Alexandra Kertz-Welzel is Professor and Chair of Music Education at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich, Germany. She studied at the Hochschule für Musik Saar and Saarland University in Saarbrücken, where she obtained Master's Degrees in music education, German studies, Philosophy, piano performance, and harpsichord performance, and was a scholarship holder from Cusanuswerk between 1992 and 2000. In 2000, she received a PhD degree in Musicology from Saarland University, with a dissertation on aesthetics in literature and music during the early romanticism in the Nineteenth century. Prior to her employment at LMU Munich in 2011, she was a lecturer in music education at the Hochschule für Musik in Saarbrücken (2005–2011), and visiting scholar and lecturer in music education at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington (2002–2005).
Lucy Monroe was an American operatic soprano and dancer. She was noted for her performances of "The Star-Spangled Banner", the national anthem of the United States, which she performed for Presidents and at sporting and military events, which earned her the nickname of "The Star-Spangled Soprano".
