ANDREW PETKOFSKY SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
May 13, 2007



From left, First Lady Laura Bush, Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and Virginia First Lady Anne Holton react to a remark by President George W. Bush, right, during a speech at Anniversary Park in Jamestown, VA Sunday, May 13, 2007, one of the scenes of the 400th Anniversary Festival.



Law enforcement officers take cell-phone photos of President George W. Bush from a tv as he conducts an orchestra of 400 musicians from across the country and anchored by the Virginia Symphony Orchestra at Anniversary Park in Jamestown, VA Sunday, May 13, 2007, one of the scenes of the 400th Anniversary Festival.



From left, first Lady Laura Bush, Gov. timothy M. Kaine, Virginia First Lady Anne Holton, former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne listen to President George W. Bush's adress at Anniversary Park in Jamestown, VA Sunday, May 13, 2007, one of the scenes of the 400th Anniversary Festival.

(Photos by Richmond Times-Dispatch)

PHOTOS

Sunday’s Slideshows

President Bush Speaks at Jamestown

Saturday’s Slideshows:

Celebrations

Activities

Friday’s Slideshows

Festival Stage Friday

SDay One

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VIDEO:

Jamestown NASA Exhibt

Kaine Jams with Hornsby

Modern Eyes Take in Artifacts of Jamestown

AUDIO:

Bruce Hornsby and Ricky Skaggs

National Anthem

Orchestra of 400

JAMESTOWN—More than 2,000 singers and instrumentalists performed so well today in a musical salute to Jamestown’s 400th anniversary that even President George W. Bush joined in.

Following his short speech just after noon, Bush borrowed the conductor’s baton and waved it with abandon as a 400-piece orchestra anchored by the Norfolk-based Virginia Symphony blasted the “The Stars and Stripes Forever.”

It was a humorous and exciting moment during the first of two performances by a huge combined choir and orchestra made up of the 400-piece orchestra and a nearly-1,800-voice-choir that included the Virginia Symphony Chorus and regional and youth choirs from nearly every state.

Fifty members of the Virginia Symphony were joined by 350 10-to-15-year-old musicians from around the country, said the conductor JoAnn Falletta.

The original plan was to have precisely 400 instrumentalists, to honor the anniversary number, and 1,607 singers to reflect the year Jamestown was settled. The total would be 2007 to reflect this anniversary year.

But Robert Shoup, the Virginia Symphony’s chorus master, said the final number of chorus members who showed up was close to 1,800.

Caitlyn Yoshina, a 13-year-old member of the Hawaii Youth Opera Chorus, said the experience of singing in such a large group, and singing for the president, was thrilling.

“It was awesome,” she said just after the performance. “It was so much fun.”

The group of musicians was so large that singers sat in two large stands to the right and left of the tent-covered stage that held the orchestra, president and other dignitaries.

As Falletta conducted the orchestra, two choir conductors watched her on television screens and timed their conducting to match hers. Although there were brief moments when the chorus teetered on the edge of getting out of time with the orchestra, the performance mostly held together impressively.

Because of security requirements for the president’s visit, many of the musicians had to arrived by 5:30 a.m. so sound checks could be completed before 10 a.m. By mid-morning the singers, clad in long-sleeved blue T-shirts and clear rain ponchos, were shivering under drizzle that occasionally grew to driving rain.

But the rain stopped before noon, and the singers took off their ponchos before the performance began. The sun came out brightly during Bush’s speech.

By then the musicians had played the Olympic Fanfare and Theme, the National Anthem, America the Beautiful and a fanfare to introduce the president. They also played a very fast version of “Hail to the Chief” as Bush arrived.

Although Falletta later praised the president’s conducting, it appeared from the audience that his notion of the beat did not actually coincide with that of the musicians.

Shoup said being part of such a huge ensemble was a first for most of the participants.

“None of us have ever done anything like this before,” he said. “This pretty much stands on its own.”

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Reader Comments

Are you going to post speech of the President?

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The ages of the musicians were wrong.  My son Sage is 9 years old- a violinist.  We were very proud of him to be a part of such a prestigious group!

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That age group is very untrue. I am fifteen years old, and was in this 400-piece orchestra. There were many students older than me. I personally know that the ages ranged from somewhere around six years old to, I think, someone in their nineties. I really don’t think that that’s what Mrs. JoAnn Falletta said… Maybe she was interpreted wrong.

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My daughter participated in the 400th Anniversary Celebration in Jamestown VA 2007.
She was with the group that represented the State of Mississippi (they were from French Camp, MS - French Camp Academy).
I would like to know if there is a video or dvd available of the whole finale concert on Sunday May 13, 2007.
Please let me know if there is and where I can purchase it.  Thank you Rhonda L. King

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