I love the Thanksgiving Day show - it's one of my favorites every year for a couple of reasons: There's lots of great music, including a number of classical-Americana crossover pieces; we feature some of the best student musicians in the state from the Wisconsin School Music Association Honors Concerts, and a lot of the music is by American composers.
Last but certainly not least, it's all about gratitude.
I always start the program with the traditional Thanksgiving Hymn, "We Gather Together." This year, we'll hear a rendition by the Boston Pops and Tanglewood Festival Chorus. That's followed by a real toe-tapper that requires some virtuoso performers - "Cafe Music" by Detroit-born Paul Schoenfield. The inspiration for the work came in the 1980s in Minneapolis, at a restaurant with a piano, cello, violin trio. He was subbing for the pianist one evening, and was blown away by the trio's genre-crossing and virtuosity.
One piece I almost always include is "The Harvest Home Suite" by Jay Ungar, known especially for his score for the Ken Burns Civil War documentary series. Ungar evokes a truly American sound, and the suite includes some traditional American songs.
There's also music by George Gershwin ("I got Rhythm Variations) and a really neat bluesy composition for oboe and piano by Alyssa Morris called "Four Personalities," inspired by a personality profiling test that sorts people into colors.
But the best part of the day comes to us courtesy of the Wisconsin School Music Association and its 2019 Honors Concerts. Every year I get a little weepy listening to how talented the kids are, and it's such a privilege to share their artistry with WPR listeners. This year we'll hear the following selections in this order, sprinkled into the 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. hours:
| Spirit of Life |
Chris Aspaas |
2019 WSMA HS State Honors Treble Choir |
| Bo Yavo Haboker |
Josef Hadar |
2019 WSMA HS State Honors Treble Choir |
| Entry March of the Boyars |
Johan Halvorsen |
2019 WSMA HS State Honors Band |
| Danzon no. 2 |
Arturo Marquez |
2019 WSMA HS State Honors Orchestra |
| The Music of Stillness |
Elaine Hagenberg |
2019 WSMA HS State Honors Mixed Choir |
| Balleilakka |
AR Rahman |
2019 WSMA HS State Honors Mixed Choir |
| Prelude from Act 1, La Traviata |
Giuseppe Verdi |
2019 WSMA Middle Level State Honors Orchestra |
| Danza Final - Estancia |
Ginastera |
2019 WSMA Middle Level State Honors Orchestra |
| By the Rivers of Babylon |
Susan Brumfield |
2019 WSMA Middle Level State Honors Choir |
| Hope is the Thing with Feathers |
Kenny Potter |
2019 WSMA Middle Level State Honors Choir |
| Roan Mountain Impressions |
Rick Kirby |
2019 WSMA Middle Level State Honors Band |
The specials continue after Morning Classics: At noon, there are selections from The American Songbook as Norman Gilliland welcomes Trevor Stephenson and a quartet of outstanding vocalists with songs by Scott Joplin, Louis Gottschalk, Stephen Foster, Charles Ives, and Richard Rodgers. It’s a grand tour from pre-Revolutionary War tunes to the great Broadway musicals of the 1920s and ‘30s.
At 1:00 pm, we’ll bring you “Giving Thanks – a celebration of Fall, Food and Gratitude” with John Birge – Great American writers are featured this year, including poet Mary Oliver and Walt Whitman. Plus, John welcomes Adam Gopnik, the New Yorker writer and humorist.
Please know that we are grateful that you listen, we are grateful that you visit wpr.org, and if you’re a member, we’re very thankful for your support. Happy Thanksgiving!