Political Subversion -- at an Orchestra concert?

wadvln

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Wednesday April 19, 2006 · 7:05 AM PDT

2006/04/19 · 07:05

Just wanted to share my fun with the DailyKos community:

I conduct the orchestra at a small state university. To open last night's concert I programmed "Liberty Fanfare" by John Williams (famous for Star Wars, Harry Potter, and lots of other film music). The piece was written for a ceremony re-dedictating the Statue of Liberty in 1986, after extensive repairs to the monument were completed. I explained this to the audience before the performance and added "With matters concerning immigration so much in the news, I thought I might read a part of the poem by Emma Lazarus that is engraved on the pedestal of the Statue, words that express an attitude about immigration that was at one time considered part of the American ideal: "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Who could complain -- it's engraved on the darn monument! Generated a good bit of applause and one loud bravo... Oh, and it's a good, rousing piece of music, too.

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