AMERICA 250: Heroes and Dreams
Embedded Files
PROGRAM NOTES
America 250: Heroes and Dreams celebrates the ideals, sacrifices, and shared hopes
that have shaped the American story across two and a half centuries.
The dreams are the ideals that have guided the nation from its founding:
liberty, union, democracy, courage, resilience, and the belief that tomorrow can be better than today.
The heroes are the people who carry those dreams forward:
patriots, Soldiers, families, neighbors, innovators,
and all who answer the call to serve something larger than themselves.
Chester
by William Billings
arranged by William Scheidecker
The program begins with one of the great musical voices of the American Revolution.
William Billings was one of America’s first important native-born composers,
and “Chester” became closely associated with the Revolutionary cause.
In this arrangement, the music serves as a dramatic opening narration underscore.
The hymn’s sturdy, direct character gives the program its first image of the American promise:
not polished or ceremonial, but bold, determined, and still being defended.
The Star Spangled Banner
Words by Francis Scott Key
Music by John Stafford Smith
The national anthem captures one of the most enduring images in American history:
a flag still flying after a night of battle.
Francis Scott Key wrote the words after witnessing
the bombardment of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812.
The melody itself has an older history.
John Stafford Smith’s tune was originally known as
“To Anacreon in Heaven” before Key’s poem became joined to it.
In this performance, the anthem is presented vocally, inviting the audience into the program
through a familiar act of national remembrance.
Appalachian Morning
by Robert Sheldon
After the struggle for independence came the quieter work of building a nation.
“Appalachian Morning” reflects the beauty of the American landscape
and the sense of possibility that followed the Revolution:
mountains, valleys, rivers, wooded hills,
and the dream of a future made possible by sacrifice.
Robert Sheldon describes the piece as a musical walk
through the woods and mountains of the Cumberland Gap,
an area shaped by Appalachian musical traditions.
Listen for the way the piece creates space —
not through spectacle, but through lyricism, warmth,
and a sense of a new morning opening before us.
The Battle Hymn of the Republic
Words by Julia Ward Howe
Music by William Steffe
Arranged by James D. Ployhar
The promise of liberty was beautiful, but unfinished.
Less than a century after the nation’s founding, the Civil War tested whether the Union —
and the ideals on which it was built —
could endure.
Julia Ward Howe wrote the words to “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” during the Civil War,
adapting a melody already associated with “John Brown’s Body.”
In this setting, the familiar hymn becomes more than a patriotic song.
It becomes a declaration of moral urgency,
carrying the weight of a nation struggling to decide what freedom truly means.
Gettysburg Address / “Aura Lee”
Text by Abraham Lincoln
Music by George R. Poulton
Arranged by William Scheidecker
At Gettysburg, President Abraham Lincoln gave meaning to sacrifice
in words that still define the American experiment.
Set here against the Civil War-era melody “Aura Lee,”
the Gettysburg Address reminds us that liberty must be renewed by each generation.
“Aura Lee” was published in 1861, the same year the Civil War began.
Many listeners may recognize its melody from a very different later use: “Love Me Tender.”
In this setting, however, the tune returns to a more reflective nineteenth-century sound world,
allowing Lincoln’s words to stand at the center.
Prairie Schooner
by Bruce Preuninger
As the nation endured and expanded,
families carried their hopes westward across rivers, plains, and prairie grass.
The prairie schooner — a covered wagon whose white canvas seemed to sail across the open plains —
became a symbol of movement, hardship, determination, and the dream of a new beginning.
Bruce Preuninger’s “Prairie Schooner” portrays scenes along the Oregon Trail
and reflects the journey of people seeking new lives in what became the western United States.
The piece gives the program one of its clearest images of the “Dreams” side of the title:
the American longing to move forward, even when the road is uncertain.
The Washington Post (march)
by John Philip Sousa
By the end of the nineteenth century, A
merica had entered an era of invention, industry, newspapers, railroads, town bands, parades, and civic pride.
John Philip Sousa, the March King and former leader of “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band,
captured that confidence in “The Washington Post.”
Sousa composed the march in 1889 for an awards ceremony
sponsored by The Washington Post newspaper for young writers.
The piece quickly became one of his most popular marches.
Its bright tempo and crisp style capture the sound of a nation stepping confidently toward a new century.
The World Must Be Made Safe / This We'll Defend
Text from President Woodrow Wilson's 1917 Address to Congress
Music by William Scheidecker
As the twentieth century began, the United States stepped onto the world stage.
In 1917, President Woodrow Wilson called the nation to defend democracy beyond its own shores,
declaring that “the world must be made safe for democracy.”
The musical underscore for this reading is titled “This We’ll Defend,”
after the United States Army’s enduring motto.
First adopted during the Revolutionary War era,
the motto connects the Army’s founding purpose to the sacrifices of later generations.
Here, Wilson’s words and the Army motto meet in a single idea:
liberty is not only inherited; it must be defended.
Hosts of Freedom
by Karl L. King
When America was called to serve in the First World War,
men and women across the nation answered. Iowa’s own Karl L. King,
who made Fort Dodge his home, gave American bands some of their most stirring music.
“Hosts of Freedom” honors those who answered the call.
King is especially beloved in Iowa.
After years as a circus musician and bandmaster he settled in Fort Dodge,
where he conducted the municipal band for more than five decades.
The city’s band was later renamed in his honor.
In this program, King’s march gives Iowa a direct musical voice in the national story.
Symphonic Suite from Band of Brothers
by Michael Kamen
Arranged by Jerry Brubaker
The generation that served in the First World War was followed by another,
called again during the Second World War.
For the 34th Army Band, that history is personal:
the unit’s lineage is tied to the 34th Infantry Division, the famed Red Bull Division.
Michael Kamen’s music for Band of Brothers is not built around battlefield spectacle.
Its strength lies in dignity, sorrow, and quiet heroism.
Jerry Brubaker’s concert band setting preserves that emotional weight,
giving voice to the sacrifice, intensity, and unbreakable bonds formed by those who serve together.
Symphonic Suite from Band of Brothers
by Michael Kamen
Arranged by Jerry Brubaker
The generation that served in the First World War was followed by another,
called again during the Second World War.
For the 34th Army Band, that history is personal:
the unit’s lineage is tied to the 34th Infantry Division, the famed Red Bull Division.
Michael Kamen’s music for Band of Brothers is not built around battlefield spectacle.
Its strength lies in dignity, sorrow, and quiet heroism.
Jerry Brubaker’s concert band setting preserves that emotional weight,
giving voice to the sacrifice, intensity, and unbreakable bonds formed by those who serve together.
Thunderscape
by Erik Morales
For the National Guard, service means being ready for more than one kind of battle.
Sometimes the call comes from overseas.
Sometimes it comes from here at home, in the form of
floodwaters, fire, wind, and storm.
Erik Morales’ “Thunderscape” places the audience inside the storm.
The score masterfully creates the sound of gathering darkness, rising wind, and uncontrollable natural force.
In the story of the program, this is the moment when the enemy is not an army, but nature itself.
As Tears Fall on Dawn's New Light
by Richard L. Saucedo
After the storm comes silence — and then the work of recovery.
Richard Saucedo composed “As Tears Fall on Dawn’s New Light” for Phil Campbell High School in Alabama
following the deadly tornado that devastated their community in 2011.
The title contains both grief and hope: tears in the aftermath of disaster, and dawn as a sign that life continues.
Following “Thunderscape,” this piece represents the human response after devastation —
neighbors helping neighbors, communities rebuilding, and service members bringing order, aid, and hope.
Armed Forces on Parade
Traditional US Service Songs
The American promise is not protected by words alone. It is defended by people willing to serve.
“Armed Forces on Parade” honors the men and women of the United States Armed Forces:
Coast Guard, Space Force, Air Force, Navy, Marines, and Army.
Service song medleys are a longstanding tradition in patriotic concerts and military ceremonies.
They give audiences a chance to recognize veterans, currently serving service members, and military families branch by branch.
When each song is heard, service members are invited to stand and be recognized.
Top Gun Anthem
By Harold Faltermeyer
Arranged by William Scheidecker
From sea, land, air, and space, America’s service members have always looked toward new frontiers.
“Theme from Top Gun” honors the courage of those who fly, serve, protect,
and pursue excellence in demanding conditions.
This arrangement represents a bridge from military service to the American spirit of aspiration.
The narration recalls President John F. Kennedy’s challenge to reach the moon —
not because it was easy, but because it was hard.
In that context, the music points beyond aviation alone,
toward a larger national habit of reaching higher, farther, and faster.
America the Beautiful
Words by Katharine Lee Bates
Music by Samuel A. Ward
Arranged by Erik Morales
As the story of this program nears its close, we turn to a hymn of shared gratitude.
“America the Beautiful” reflects the nation’s beauty, promise, people,
and generations of dreamers and servants who have carried the American story forward.
Katharine Lee Bates originally wrote the text as a poem,
and Samuel A. Ward’s melody, “Materna,” later became the tune most closely associated with it.
Erik Morales’ arrangement gives the hymn a warm concert band setting,
allowing the program to pause in gratitude before its final patriotic close.
The Stars and Stripes Forever
by John Philip Sousa
The program closes with the national march of the United States,
dedicated to the flag that has long stood as a symbol of freedom, resilience, and unity.
John Philip Sousa’s “The Stars and Stripes Forever”
remains one of the most recognizable and beloved patriotic works in American music.
The march is famous not only for its energy, but for its brilliant final strain,
where the piccolo countermelody soars above the band.
Congress designated “The Stars and Stripes Forever” as the official national march of the United States in 1987,
ensuring its place as a permanent part of the American musical landscape.
The Incredibles (Optional Encore)
by Michael Giacchino
Arranged by Jay Bocook
The encore is a final salute to the heroes all around us.
With energy, humor, and adventure, “The Incredibles” reminds us
that heroism is not limited to history books or movie screens.
Sometimes the heroes are closer than we think.
Michael Giacchino’s score draws on the bold, brassy sound world
of classic spy films and mid-century adventure music.
Jay Bocook’s concert band arrangement turns that style into a fast, flashy encore —
a final burst of fun after the formal story has reached its patriotic close.
34th Army Band | Iowa Army National Guard
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