America’s 250th Birthday Celebration is coming up… You know what that means!

[Bespin Copilot 9,582]

On 12/11/2024 at 7:05 AM, bespinGPT said:

Can I just say that you'll celebrate the 250th anniversary of your Declaration of Independence, not "America".

 

The fact that your country doesn’t even have a real country name doesn’t make the USA "America."

 

America is the entire American continent: North, Central, and South.

 

 

 

 

[Tom 5,591]

You forgot Hawaii.  

[BB-8 4,959]

You forgot the Falkland Islands.

[Thor 9,308]

If he does this, it will be cool, but I doubt it.

 

Backtracking to his former piece in this category a bit, "Celebrate Discovery". It's probably my favourite of all of John Williams' fanfares/short non-film pieces. But does anyone have an exact date for when it first premiered? You would think 1992, to coincide with 1492, but I see both 1990 and 1991 as dates in various sources. Could be composition dates, but why would be spend so much time on a short piece like this? If it was performed in either 1990 or 1991, that would also be weird, as the anniversary isn't here yet.

 

I'm sure Miguel or others have the answer ready. My knowledge of dates and premieres sucks.

[Miguel Andrade 1,512]

2 hours ago, Thor said:

If he does this, it will be cool, but I doubt it.

 

Backtracking to his former piece in this category a bit, "Celebrate Discovery". It's probably my favourite of all of John Williams' fanfares/short non-film pieces. But does anyone have an exact date for when it first premiered? You would think 1992, to coincide with 1492, but I see both 1990 and 1991 as dates in various sources. Could be composition dates, but why would be spend so much time on a short piece like this? If it was performed in either 1990 or 1991, that would also be weird, as the anniversary isn't here yet.

 

I'm sure Miguel or others have the answer ready. My knowledge of dates and premieres sucks.

 

Premiered July 4, 1990 at the Hatch Shell, Boston, with the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra.

https://archive.org/details/bostonpopsesplan1990bost/page/11/mode/1up?view=theater

[Thor 9,308]

Thanks, Miguel. So they "cheated" the anniversary by two years.

[Jurassic Shark 14,945]

I guess they found out it was discovered way earlier so it didn't matter if they cheated.

[Thor 9,308]

Yeah, there's no Leif Erikson day!

[Manakin Skywalker 5,645]

 

[Bayesian 1,511]

As the country’s unofficial Composer Laureate (per the JW Composer box set from Sony), it would be fitting if JW felt inclined to write something to commemorate America’s quarter-millennium of existence. 
 

On the other hand, I can also see why he would pass on it, given his age and maybe also the fact that we may be unable to recognize this country as America in a year’s time.

 

Setting politics aside to the extent possible, though, it seems like this would be a milestone tailor-made for him. Would he take on a commission for such a piece, do you think?

[crumbs 15,495]

16 hours ago, Bayesian said:

As the country’s unofficial Composer Laureate (per the JW Composer box set from Sony), it would be fitting if JW felt inclined to write something to commemorate America’s quarter-millennium of existence. 
 

On the other hand, I can also see why he would pass on it, given his age and maybe also the fact that we may be unable to recognize this country as America in a year’s time.

 

You're right to question whether America (as we know it) will exist for a 250th anniversary. It's certainly being reshaped into something that hardly resembles the country 'America' once represented.

 

16 hours ago, Bayesian said:

Setting politics aside to the extent possible, though, it seems like this would be a milestone tailor-made for him. Would he take on a commission for such a piece, do you think?

 

It's a pointless hypothetical because the people responsible for commissioning such a piece have neither the class nor intelligence to recognize his contribution to American culture, nor any respect for the arts.

 

In any event, there's zero chance Williams will associate himself with this "administration." At a certain point you put politics aside and recognize sheer bastardry for what it is. 

 

There's a greater (albeit slim) chance of him writing a new piece for the 2028 LA Olympics, assuming the rest of the world isn't boycotting by that stage.

[Tallguy 5,607]

11 minutes ago, crumbs said:

You're right to question whether America (as we know it) will exist for a 250th anniversary. It's certainly being reshaped into something that hardly resembles the country 'America' once represented.

 

Oh come now. Abandoning allies until we don't have a choice anymore is a tradition going back over a century. (At least.)

 

And you certainly can't criticize our freedom of speech or the press. Try writing like the NYT does in China or Russia and see how quickly you get poisoned or just disappeared. (Or *cough* posting on the internet.)

 

We're as good or as bad as we ever have been.

 

Well, other than we don't have another composer as good as a 93 year old man. But we'll work on that. Eventually.

[Sunshine Reger 3,649]

Williams has personally observed more than a third of US history. His childhood wish to own a film studio was closer in time to Abe Lincoln than to 2025. I doubt political fluctuations can easily sway his emotions towards his homeland. If he choses to honour a big round anniversary in some way, he will likely do it on his own terms.

[Thor 9,308]

2 minutes ago, Sunshine Reger said:

Williams has personally observed more than a third of US history.

 

That's pretty staggering right there.

 

Old people....I love them.

[Manakin Skywalker 5,645]

He should just sneakily submit the Canadian national anthem.

[Jurassic Shark 14,945]

21 minutes ago, Thor said:

Old people....I love them.

 

Get a room (with a heart starter)!

 

3 hours ago, crumbs said:

There's a greater (albeit slim) chance of him writing a new piece for the 2028 LA Olympics, assuming the rest of the world isn't boycotting by that stage.

 

He could do a pop version of his '84 theme and laugh all the way to the bank. John Groban probably needs to refresh his career. 

[Tom 5,591]

1 hour ago, Sunshine Reger said:

Williams has personally observed more than a third of US history. His childhood wish to own a film studio was closer in time to Abe Lincoln than to 2025. I doubt political fluctuations can easily sway his emotions towards his homeland. If he choses to honour a big round anniversary in some way, he will likely do it on his own terms.

It is always the most recent president of the opposite party that embodies evil for both the left and right.

 

I have lived long enough to hear people from uneducated to journalists, to Ph.Ds declare, Clinton, Bush, Obama, and Trump as pure evil.  

 

It becomes background noise after a while.  

[Taikomochi 1,320]

Nobody more enlightened than the “both sides” folks lol. Well, unfortunately, as noted earlier in this thread, Williams actually has picked a side, so your enlightened centrist bit doesn’t really apply here. 

[Jay 42,358]

Hey guys, let's keep this thread focused ENTIRELY on a potential Williams composition, and not get into the current political climate.  This isn't the place for that and you all know it.

 

Thank you!

[Tallguy 5,607]

So who is the modern day Wagner who can write this?

[Thor 9,308]

Wagner? I'm thinking more Sousa, Copland or Bernstein. And Williams is about as close as you can get to a modern-day version of those.

[Tallguy 5,607]

2 hours ago, Thor said:

Wagner? I'm thinking more Sousa, Copland or Bernstein. And Williams is about as close as you can get to a modern-day version of those.

I'm thinking brilliant musician with abhorrent social views since the opinion here is that Williams' distaste for the administration will outweigh his love of country.

 

Who is a comparable musician who is also a partisan hack for the current political moment?

[mrbellamy 7,278]

Kid Rock

[BB-8 4,959]

America 250: A Musical Journey

 

In June 2026, Symphony Center marks America’s 250th anniversary with performances that honor the nation’s rich and evolving cultural landscape. From concerts with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra to appearances by guest artists and jazz ensembles, these curated programs reflect the country’s resilience, creativity and musical traditions.

Highlights include Wynton Marsalis’ Liberty Symphony with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra — blending jazz, blues and classical influences — and Conrad Tao’s recital with music by American composers. Works by Copland, Gershwin and Ives explore the nation’s enduring spirit, culminating in epic performances of John Williams’ iconic Star Wars: A New Hope score live to film.

 

America 250: A Musical Journey | Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Star Wars: A New Hope in Concert | Chicago Symphony Orchestra

[Jurassic Shark 14,945]

Expansions of the Skywalker trilogies confirmed!

[ConorPower 177]

3 hours ago, BB-8 said:

culminating in epic performances of John Williams’ iconic Star Wars: A New Hope score live to film.

 

Wow!! If this isn't an affirmation of JW's music being made central to America's music culture & identity, then I don't know what it is!

 

It's pretty to cool to see this "canonisation" of JW's music in real-time. Obviously, Berlin, Vienna, and Milan were the first stepping stones toward this "elevation" (for lack of a better word) of JW and his place in the pantheon of 20th/21st-century musical history. But this programming, as part of America's 250th, alongside already canonised national composers like Copland and Gershwin, is really hammering this notion home that JW's music is here to stay, and has/will serve a purpose beyond Hollywood!

[BB-8 4,959]

1 hour ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Expansions of the Skywalker trilogies confirmed!

Make the trilogies great again!

[Smeltington 1,751]

2 hours ago, BB-8 said:

Make the trilogies great again!

 

Some of them would be great for the first time   

[BB-8 4,959]

[Smeltington 1,751]

[leeallen01 2,200]

I hope this helps.

[bollemanneke 3,999]

Not a fan of the ANH score, there I said it. He's written so much more interesting things, both in Star Wars and out.

[BB-8 4,959]

11 minutes ago, bollemanneke said:

Not a fan of the ANH score, there I said it. He's written so much more interesting things, both in Star Wars and out.

Occasionally still too much Holst, Elgar and Stravinsky in there...and no Americana. So wouldn't put ANH top on my list either. 

[bollemanneke 3,999]

The ideal thing would, IMO, be a chronological concert, or two concerts, in which they play all his famous themes, or say, one piece per famous score, plus the American celebration pieces.

[BB-8 4,959]

Critically spoken, they could have just programmed "American Journey" along with some Bernstein and Copland rather than to single him out with a "live to film" performance that contains all the distraction of the film and the noise from space ships and light sabers that are the enemies of music.

[Tallguy 5,607]

Arguably Star Wars as a whole is more essentially American than just Williams' score to it.

 

 

[BB-8 4,959]

31 minutes ago, Tallguy said:

Arguably Star Wars as a whole is more essentially American than just Williams' score to it.

 

 

Except for the moral of the story, yes.

[Tallguy 5,607]

25 minutes ago, BB-8 said:

Except for the moral of the story, yes.

 

Plucky underdogs revolting against a tyrannical empire? As American as Apple Pie. Making gobs of money as a popular entertainer? Even more so.

[BB-8 4,959]

Building theme parks around a saga full of elements stolen from Germanic and Asian mythology garnished with central European late-romantic orchestral music...it's as American as you can get!

 

[sarcasm]

[Mr. Hooper 5,021]

3 hours ago, BB-8 said:

Occasionally still too much Holst, Elgar and Stravinsky in there...and no Americana. So wouldn't put ANH top on my list either. 

 

 

[Smeltington 1,751]

They probably just planned to do ANH anyway and decided they could tie it to the America theme, since JW is a national treasure.

[BB-8 4,959]

7 hours ago, Mr. Hooper said:

 

 

Is that Billy Dee Williams?

[Mr. Hooper 5,021]

37 minutes ago, BB-8 said:

Is that Billy Dee Williams?

A cross between Billy Dee and Aaron Neville.