Tonight’s band concert to feature special Pearl Harbor memorial music

The Notre Dame band and choir will be performing this summer on the Battleship Missouri Memorial, located near the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Tonight at 7 p.m. when the Notre Dame band program performs their annual spring concert in the cafeteria, a special piece of music will be included that is guaranteed to be both inspirational and emotional.

The Missouri secured its place in history as the site of Japan’s unconditional surrender to the Allied Forces on Sept. 2, 1945, ending World War II.

According to Joe Martin, who directs the band at Notre Dame, the program will include "December 7, 1941, A Day Which Will Live In Infamy," a musical portrayal of the events surrounding the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The dramatic portrayal, written by James Ployhar, sometimes includes President Franklin D. Roosevelt's announcement to the country of the fateful bombing.

“My grandfather was at Pearl Harbor after the bombing and we are going to show many photos that he took there when we perform the piece,” Martin said. “We also will have a retired Navy personnel reading a narration before the piece.”

Martin also said that the Notre Dame band and choir will travel to Hawaii this summer to participate in the “A Salute to Valor Music Festival,” which will be held July 4 on the Battleship Missouri Memorial on Ford Island in Pearl Harbor.

“The special concert is a tribute to the brave men and women of the United States Armed Forces,” Martin said. “In addition to the Notre Dame contingent, it will feature performers and bands from around the country who will join together to form the Festival Chorus to honor Independence Day with lots of patriotic music and singing.”

Comments or questions? mkelly@ndpma.org.

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About Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy

Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. The school's upper division enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame's middle and lower divisions enroll students in jr. kindergarten through grade eight. All three divisions are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." The Marist Fathers and Brothers sponsor NDPMA's Catholic identity and manages its educational program. Notre Dame is accredited by the National Association of Independent Schools, the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school's home page at www.ndpma.org.