We sat down with Principal Guest Conductor Byron Stripling to talk more about Comcast NBCUniversal Memorial Salute.

We are so happy to have you back again for another Memorial Salute, Byron!

Thank you so much! I am also very excited to be back for Memorial Salute.

Can you tell us more about the repertoire for this year's Memorial Salute?

For this concert, I wanted to convey the feeling of hope to our audience. With everything that has happened in the last two years, coming together to honor service members while celebrating our collective strength as a community these last few years. This concert is a wonderful collection of songs that celebrate America, including songs that highlight American immigrant composers, songs from different, society-defining eras, and music that reflects and celebrates America's diverse population.

Could you elaborate on the reasons why you choose each song in the show?

We open the show, obviously, with the "Star Spangled Banner", and then we swing right into "Swingin’ Stars and Stripes", as we did last year as well. I love the placement of these because it gives the audience something that everyone likes, it lights up the crowd and gives the crowd a chance to snap their fingers along to the tune.  

The next song, “What a Wonderful World," represents a moment of reflection. We are in the mist of political strife, of war, and of heartache, and this song is a moment to step back and remember, which is what Memorial Day is all about.  

 

Our featured fiddler, Jennifer Orchard, then joins us on stage for a modern take on the classic song, “Ol’ McDonald Had a Farm."  It is really a hooting and hollering song. It is a country western combined with jazz arrangement. Plus, Jennifer is a crazy amazing fiddler. You wouldn’t think that “Ol’ McDonald” could be a really hip thing, but we have made it into a really hip thing.  

 

We then shift into songs from the past, including the 1930s Irving Caesar, “I Want to Be Happy." It is from the depression era. We have gone through hard times similar to the Great Depression, including the COVID-19 pandemic. Written during the Great Depression, the song exemplifies hope and happiness and I think it is something people will relate to and enjoy. 

 

Another classic song in this concert is Irving Berlin's number, “Always." We wanted to highlight great, quintessential, American composers, including immigrants such as Irving Berlin and the Gershwin brothers. Irving Berlin achieved the American dream by immigrating to the United States, starting out life in America as a waiter, and working his way up to becoming a legendary Jewish-American composer. This song is all about love. It is about loving one another and ourselves no matter what. It is truly quintessential Irving Berlin. 

 

We then return to the Gershwin songbook, this time with the song “Fascinating Rhythm."  We go back to Gershwin after visiting the songbook of Gershwin earlier in the month with The Philly POPS series, ‘S WONDERFUL! ‘S GERSHWIN! This song is one of his essential hits. Our guest vocalist, Sydney McSweeney, will blow everyone away when she sings this song.  

 

The next two songs, “Sweet Georgia Brown” and “Amen: This Little Light of Mine," represent different communities within the United States. They both highlighti the Black community and the religious aspects of American culture. Both “Amen” and “This Little Light of Mine” are spirituals, are rooted in gospel music, and “This Little Light of Mine” was also a prominent song of the civil rights movement. 

 

“Hymn to the Fallen," then brings us to the music of legendary modern American composers, such as the great John Williams. It is just a beautiful tribute to everyone that has served this country, especially the people who have passed during their time of service.  

 

Lastly, we end the night with the “Armed Forces Medley."  How I do this song is that I have every member of each branch of the military who are in the audience stand when we get to their branch's official song, so we have a drumroll and go through each branch. We go through every anthem so each veteran in attendance is encouraged to stand up and get a salute and round applause from the audience recognizing their service.

It is truly an honor to perform "Armed Forces Medley" and the rest of the repertoire for the Philadelphia community along with service members and their families. 

I hope you - our audience - enjoys this concert as much as I do!