1 - D-day minus thirty-five and counting.  At least toward the BIG May 12 weekend.  I received some information in the mail yesterday from the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundtation, and among other things they gave a web site:

www.americas400thanniversary.com 

which has been spiffied up considerably since the last time I was there.  Events are listed not only for that weekend but throughout the year. Of particular interest to me, and probably to you, were a list of organizations preparing to celeb..... uh..... commemorate.   Once you get to the web site, click on WHO's PLANNING.   The good news is that it will give you a list of a dozen or so institutions who are planning.  If you select some of them, you can get a list of 50 or 60 'members' of whatever.  The bad news is that nowhere does it show you WHAT these people are planning.  

The most depressing thing to me is when you find your way to Saturday May 12, there is nothing whatsoever about the dozens of organizations around Virginia and in fact the country who are traveling there to perform.  Instead, the text leads off with

"Bruce Hornsby & The Nose Makers will host an evening of rock R&B and progressive bluegrass ... to honor America's beginnings...."   huh????


2 - For those interested in 'celebration' I refer you to 
www.jamestown400.org 

This is a website sponsored by Vision Christian Ministries, and they will have a BIG celebration the week of June 11.  Us old-line Episcopalians normally have little truck with the more outgoing ministries, but this actually looks very good to me.  Note that this celebration, yes CELEBRATION is not one of the dozen or so referenced on the other web site.

3 - Things that I know of that don't seem to appear anywhere may be of interest to you.

May 12 - 4PM  @ Jamestown -  "Der Alte Kameradan German Band" of the City of Fairfax Band (who were there for the 1981 Bicentennial) will give a concert stressing the German Heritage.  Among the selections that they will play sill be three selections from the Lehigh University JAMESTOWN JUBILEE CD -- selections that were written for the 1907 Jamestown Exposition.  This band was the official band for some of the port calls of the DISCOVERY/et al at Alexandria, Baltimore etc.

May 12 - 6PM  @ Jamestown - "The Stonewall Brigade Band" of Staunton will give a concert stressing music that was written FOR Virginia, and/or by Virginians.  This includes "The Battleship Virginia", as well as two selections from you-know-what---- yep, THE CD. In fact the selections are the 'bookend marches of that CD'  The opening TRUMPETER OF JAMESTOWNE by yours truly, and POWHATAN'S DAUGHTER by John Philip Sousa.

May 15 - 8PM(I think) Reston - "The Reston Chorale" will give a concert which includes a very big piece commissioned for Jamestown 200, for Chorus and full symphony orchestra.  It will also include The 1907 Official Hymn, using my arrangement for brass sextet and kettle drums to rattle the rafters.  As far as I know this will be the only performance anywhere of that wonderful hymn.  Since it opens with the line "O God of the nations, by whose guiding hand..." it fails the political-correctness test so is not even acknowledged on the 'official' sites.

Week of June 11 - Jamestown.  "Christian Vision Ministries" plans a lot of music that week.  There plans have not firmed up at this point, but they may do some of the 1907 Jamestown music, including The Official Hymn.  They also may have a band perform "President Tyler's Grand March" since they plan some festivities around James Tyler's home.

All this probably raises more questions than it answers, but I hope it useful to some folks out there.

Randy Cabell
(Still) The Trumpeter of Jamestowne