Southeast Symphony performs patriotic pieces for Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration

This year marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of the man who preserved the union and who is considered by American historians to be among the greatest U.S. presidents, Abraham Lincoln.

In honor of the 16th president, the Southeast Missouri State University River Campus will host the Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration. The Southeast Missouri Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sara Edgerton, will play Aaron Copland's "Lincoln Portrait" with narration by Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder.

Edgerton, originally from Ithaca, N.Y., is now in her 18th year conducting the orchestra. She has selected patriotic pieces of music with varying sounds and textures.

"We have YouTube and CDs," she said, "but music, at its best, it's an artistic experience and we want, with this music in particular, to create a very uplifting experience."

Bill Holcombe's "American Celebration Overture," written in 1975 to commemorate the United States' bicentennial, begins the concert. That will be followed by "The Unanswered Question," composed in 1908 by New England-based composer Charles Ives, then sections from Copland's "Rodeo."

William Grant Still's "Afro-American Symphony" will be the fourth piece.

"He was an early 20th century composer who, in 1936, was the first African-American allowed to conduct a major orchestra," Edgerton said. "Later, in 1955, he was the first black man to conduct a major orchestra in the Deep South, in this case, the New Orleans Philharmonic."

"Lincoln Portrait" concludes the evening. It was composed in 1942 at the height of World War II. During the music, a narrator reads parts of Lincoln's famous speeches, including the Gettysburg Address.

"Kinder has done this before with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra," Edgerton said. "Since he's familiar with 'Lincoln Portrait' and since he is a Cape Girardeau native, we couldn't think of anyone more appropriate to narrate that section."

The Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration will be at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Bedell Performance Hall. Tickets are $11 to $15 at the River Campus box office, by calling 651-2265, online at MetroTix.com keyword "lincoln" or MetroTix locations.