Princeton Symphony Orchestra to Release Copland Fanfare Video for a Hope-Filled Spring

To celebrate spring and provide hope against the coming of the tax man, the Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) invites the greater Princeton community and internet followers to a free, online video premiere of the orchestra's outdoor performance of Aaron Copland's solemn and heroic Fanfare for the Common Man on Wednesday, April 7 at 5pm EST. Filmed live in Princeton's downtown Palmer Square, the performance showcases the PSO's brass and percussion sections led by Edward T. Cone and Music Director Rossen Milanov. The four-minute video was produced and edited by PCK Media.

Free access to the video will be available below.

Aaron Copland's seminal fanfare was written in 1942, at the onset of America's entering into WWII. It was commissioned by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under Music Director Eugene Goossens, who wanted to continue the orchestra's tradition of starting concerts off with a fanfare during wartime. It was partly inspired by then-Vice President Henry A. Wallace's rousing speech proclaiming the start of an anti-imperialist new era he dubbed the "Century of the Common Man." The work premiered on March 12, 1943, just three-days before the tax deadline (today's April 15 deadline wasn't established until 1954). Goossens purposely selected the date, to which Copland replied, "I [am] all for honoring the common man at income tax time."

The April 7 premiere takes place on the orchestra's YouTube channel and features a live chat. The link can also be accessed on the orchestra's website and social media. No registration is required, and the video will remain available for viewing following the premiere. Supporting this free event are Bryn Mawr Trust and individuals including Mara Connolly and Pete Taft, Yvonne Marcuse, Karen and John Ellis, and Mark and Cynthia Larsen.