Tuesday, January 1, 2008

New York Historical Society Celebrates 250th Birthday of Lafayette With Music of Francis Johnson


[The Music of Francis Johnson & His Contemporaries: Early 19th-Century Black Composers; Honor To The Brave: Gen. Lafayette's Grand March (3:57); Diane Monroe, Violin; The Chestnut Brass Company and Friends; Tamara Brooks, Conductor; Music Masters 7029-2-C (1990)]

NEW YORK, NY - History comes to life for the whole family at the New York Historical Society in celebration of the 250th birthday of our French Founding Father - Lafayette.

An engaging, uplifting, interactive exhibition, French Founding Father: Lafayette's Return to Washington's America allows people of all ages to see, touch and experience history. Start by picking up a free brochure filled with fun activities for kids to complete as they go through the exhibition.

Don't miss the fireworks display in the Great Hall in front of the mural recreating the hero's welcome Lafayette received upon his arrival in New York. Kids will recognize in the mural the harbor of today's New York and the round building of Castle Clinton that still stands in Battery Park, near where the Statue of Liberty Tour boats debark. In that very place over 6,000 elegantly dressed guests danced the night away to welcome the aging hero.

As you progress upstairs, listen to celebratory band music by Francis Johnson, a black composer who was the first major bandleader in the U.S. Full Article

[Francis B. Johnson composed Honor To The Brave: Gen. Lafayette's Grand March (3:57) and is profiled at AfriClassical.com]

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