This spring, our Veterans and the Arts Initiative is offering plenty of exciting workshops and performances. For visual artists, consider joining our Introduction to Smartphone Photography workshop (3/14–3/28). You’ll hone your visual awareness and learn composition, lighting, editing, and more.
In our Empowered Legacy: Preserving Military Stories Workshops (4/3–4/17), you’ll have the opportunity to create personal and meaningful works. Tina Claflin, retired Coast Guard Veteran and owner of Halcyon Reflections LLC, will guide the creation of mixed media art. Our Flower-Hammering and Printing Workshop (5/4, 5/6), led by Emily Fasick, will teach Tataki zome, the technique of crushing real flowers and leaves onto fabric to create abstract patterns using botanical dyes.
We hope you’ll also join us for a performance offering Veterans and Servicemembers free tickets: the American Festival Pops Orchestra (AFPO) presents American Icons (4/6). This concert features iconic works by some of America’s greatest composers, including Leroy Anderson, Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, John Philip Sousa, William Grant Still, Joan Tower, and John Williams.
“Almost 10 years ago, the Veterans and the Arts Initiative originated at the Hylton Performing Arts Center to support, to honor, and to celebrate our military-connected community members through the arts,” said Niyati Dhokai, program director for the Veterans and the Arts Initiative. “We are so excited to welcome our Veterans, Servicemembers, their guests, and our entire community to a brilliant evening of music on Saturday, April 6. Conducted by Peter Wilson, who served for 30 years as a violinist for ‘The President's Own’ The U.S. Marine Band, the upcoming AFPO concert will bring together some of the most iconic American music for an uplifting evening.”
We spoke with AFPO Artistic Director and Conductor Peter Wilson about this exciting concert:
What inspires you the most about this performance?
It’s always inspiring to conduct the wonderful musicians of the AFPO, but this will be my first time leading them in a non-holiday concert. I’m so excited to explore this other side of the AFPO while focusing on the greatest American composers and some of their most iconic works. As a retired 30-year Marine, I am very pleased about the AFPO’s important collaboration with the Veterans and the Arts Initiative and proud to pay tribute to our great Nation while saluting our brave Veterans through music.
Can you share with us some of your favorite American Icons? And why?
As someone who has been a serious musician for more than half a century, it’s hard to ignore the uniquely American sound of Aaron Copland, George Gershwin, and Leonard Bernstein. However, my favorite American Icon would have to be the great film composer John Williams, who just turned 92 years old and still has conducting engagements! John Williams’ music has become a soundtrack of our lives, and it’s hard to imagine a day without his music appearing somewhere. The variety of styles he achieves, the beauty of his scoring, and his gift for composing unforgettable melodies have made him a national treasure and a musical ambassador. I’m thrilled that we’ll be performing “A Tribute to John Williams” on this program.
What can audiences look forward to in this upcoming AFPO performance?
The AFPO will perform one of my favorite works by Aaron Copland—his remarkable “Lincoln Portrait,” which includes inspiring quotes from our 16th President and a deeply emotional conclusion featuring excerpts from his moving Gettysburg Address. I’m so pleased to welcome Sheyna Burt [Chair, Hylton Center Board of Directors] and Rick Davis [Dean and Executive Director, Hylton Performing Arts Center] of the Hylton Center as our speakers. As always, our AFPO audience can expect to hear the fantastic vocal stylings of Mason’s Jazz Vocal Professor, Darden Purcell, and we will feature the AFPO’s imbedded Big Band as well as the other great sections of the orchestra. I’m especially proud to feature among our most iconic and diverse American composers the “Dean of Afro-American composers” William Grant Still and an exciting movement from his Symphony No. 1 as well as Joan Tower’s “Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman.” Finally, the AFPO continues its tradition of paying tribute to our American Veterans with an Armed Forces Salute featuring beloved service songs and other American inspired tunes! We have something for everyone, and we look forward to sharing this great music on April 6th!
Purchase your tickets today for American Festival Pops Orchestra presents American Icons on April 6. This performance is free for Veterans and Servicemembers with ID (up to two tickets each). Free tickets are limited and only available in person at the Hylton Center Ticket Office.