Ever since 9/11, there have been rumblings to change the national anthem from the "Star Spangled Banner" to "America the Beautiful."
Composer Joan Tower may have given the movement a little momentum with her new piece, "Made in America," which the Civic Orchestra of Tucson premiered at its concert Sunday.
"Made in America" employs as its theme "America the Beautiful" but adds a sense of urgency and renewed patriotism that has consumed the nation since the terrorist attacks.
The volunteer Tucson orchestra is one of more than 60 that will perform the piece in the next year as part of the Ford Made in America program. The community orchestras chipped in to commission Tower for the piece, which also was funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Ford Motor Company Fund as part of the landmark Ford Made in America commissioning program.
On Sunday, before an audience of about 400, Tower led the orchestra in the nearly 15-minute piece, whose soul is centered on "America the Beautiful." It opens with a sweeping symphonic nod to the classic that grows majestic before drifting almost dreamlike into a more urgent tone. The energy is driven largely by the horns, which came in a little off beat but quickly caught up to the nearly taut string section.
If the Civic Orchestra's performance was a bit stilted, it was easy to forgive. The group had just one day to work out the kinks with Tower, who conducted the orchestra in the performance Sunday â the piece's only Arizona performance.
Tower admitted after the concert that she wasn't sure the orchestra could pull it together.
"I had very little time with them," she said. "When I first started with them, I thought, 'They're not going to make it.' But they did."
The piece is not easy; it starts with a whisper of "America the Beautiful," tender and regal. About the time you're humming the words "and amber waves of grain," the piece takes a turn on an unexplored, grandiose road.
Cymbals clang, then crash, the timpani and bass drum lend booming undertones, and the glockenspiel, xylophone and maracas combine to create a hollow, resonating ping. Horns lead an urgent charge that's tempered by the strings but not muted. Just when you think there's nary a hint of its theme song, Tower brings the piece quietly and soothingly back to "America the Beautiful."
Perhaps those angling to rewrite the national anthem might consider Tower's exclamation point to an old favorite.
Also at Sunday's concert, Tucson soprano Elena Todd made her first appearance with the orchestra, performing an almost operatic turn of Andre Previn's "Sally Chisum Remembers Billy the Kid" and a selection of Aaron Copland tunes, including the classic "The Boatman's Dance" and the playful yarn "I Bought Me a Cat."
â The Civic Orchestra of Tucson in concert Sunday at Crowder Hall.
