America the Beautiful 45 Years Later

It has never ceased to amaze me how much emotion and memory a piece of music can evoke. It happened to me again this past week at band rehearsal. We are in the midst of our summer season in the community band I  perform in, preparing for two concerts in the next couple of weeks. Thumbing through the selections that were placed in our folders I glanced upon a old sentimental favorite, the Carmen Dragon arrangement of "America the Beautiful" and thought, "welcome back, old friend".

But it wasn't until we began to rehearse this familiar favorite that the memories and emotions began to surface. Suddenly, I was transported back to  June of 1969,  under a large canvas tent that was positioned up the hill from a lake. On the podium, a handsome and charismatic conductor named Col. Arnald Gabriel had the captivated attention of 150 high school students as he led us through our first reading of Dragon's "America the Beautiful". It was also my first experience performing this glorious rendition and it immediately became a personal favorite of mine, so much so that is on the list of selections I would like played at my funeral.

It wasn't just the music that had me spellbound, for I was beginning to realize that I was in the presence of greatness. When I noticed a brochure on the band room bulletin board months earlier, for a band camp at a college in northeast Missouri, it sounded like fun. The price was right-$30.00 for the week, room and board included. There may have been a mention of who the guest conductor would be, but even if there was, I have no memory of that being the main attraction.

So off I went on a Trailways Bus through southeastern Iowa on a Sunday in early June, where I was deposited several hours later on the town square in Kirksville, MO. With my suitcase and saxophone in tow, I walked the mile or so to the campus where I checked in, met my roommate for the week, had my audition for chair placement and the jazz band and soon was headed for the dining hall for supper. The next morning, we would all board buses and would be transported out to a state park, where the high school band would rehearse that week.

When Col. Gabriel stepped up to the podium, his presence alone captured our undivided attention. Not a tall man, but with jet black hair and a Jack LaLanne physique, he immediately had us in the palm of his hand. Col. Gabriel was the dynamic conductor of the US Air Force Band and Orchestra at the time. A decorated Army veteran who was part of the D-Day invasion at Normandy, he was intense, demanding, personable and a marvelous conductor. How that small college tucked away in the hills of northern Missouri managed to obtain his services for an entire week still mystifies me to this day. But make no mistake about, we were in for a treat.

I had the time of my young life that week. I made the jazz band, took some private lessons, hung out in the dorms like college kids would and even managed to lure a young woman's heart, short lived as it was to be. By the time my parents drove down from Des Moines that Friday to attend the final concert and whisk me home, the return on my $30.00 tuition had more than exceeded my expectations.

The high school concert band performed last and Col. Gabriel conducted us in his formal, white, Air Force concert uniform. We closed the concert with the Carmen Dragon arrangement of "America the Beautiful'. It was glorious, and stunning and I never forgot that moment. Months later when the record album of the concert appeared in the mail, I relived that moment again and again.

Memory, however, is not the same as experience. As many times as I've performed that arrangement over the years, it has never gotten old or lost its impact on me.  As Larry McTaggart, our current conductor, who like Col. Gabriel served in the US Air Force Band in DC, led us through our first reading last week, the magic of that night almost 45 years ago to the week, returned.

For me, the words and music of America the Beautiful conjure up images of the corn fields alongside the trail where I walked Grace earlier this morning. Of the skyline of San Francisco looking out over the Pacific Ocean. Or the deserted main street of small Iowa town,  the stunning skyline of New York City, the beaches of the Florida gulf shores. It is a hopeful anthem, one that always reminds me of how strong and generous we can be. And it saddens me when I see and hear the divisions that threaten our beauty, of the anger and hopelessness that presides all over this great land. Is America still as beautiful as she once was? I think so, you just have to look for the beauty.

Music can heal, inspire, encourage and unite. It can help us to suspend our divisions and embrace our common good. On the 4th of July, we will gather under a canopy of  trees for a old style concert in the park. There will be marches, a Broadway show-tune medley, a trumpet soloist, among  the usual fare. Among the selections will be Carmen Dragon's arrangement of  "America the Beautiful". It will be beautiful.

I can feel the goosebumps coming already.

Colonel Arnald D. Gabriel retired from the United States Air Force Band, Symphony Orchestra, and Singing Sergeants as Commander/Conductor after a distinguished 37-year military career. Following his retirement, he was named Conductor Emeritus of the USAF Band with the Rehearsal Hall/recording studio named in his honor. He was awarded his third LEGION OF MERIT for his service to the United States and to to music education upon his retirement.

As a conductor, Colonel Gabriel has appeared with bands, major orchestras in all 50 states, and in more than 50 countries abroad. He also has conducted the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. His 37-year military career began with his service in World War II when he served as a combat machine gunner with the United States Army's famed 29th Infantry Division in Europe where he received two Bronze Star medals, the Combat Infantry Badge, and the French Croix de Guerre. Following his separation from the Army in 1946, Colonel Gabriel enrolled in Ithaca College, New York, where he earned the BS (1950), MS (1953), Honorary Doctor of Music (1989), and the Lifetime Achievement Award (1997).

Following his retirement from the military, Colonel Gabriel served on the faculty of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia (1985-1995) where he served as Chairman of the Department of Music, conductor of the university orchestra, and was named Professor Emeritus.

Colonel Gabriel is the youngest person to have been inducted into the National Band Association Hall of Fame for Distinguished Band Conductors.

Carmen Dragon (July 28, 1914 – March 28, 1984) was an American conductor, composer, and arranger who in addition to live performances and recording, worked in radio, film, and television
He made a popular orchestral arrangement of "America the Beautiful" and also re-arranged it for symphonic band. According to his website, he was awarded an Emmy in 1964.

He conducted the Hollywood Bowl Symphony Symphony Orchestra, and they performed on The Standard School Broadcast, broadcast on NBC in the western U.S. for elementary schools from 1928 through the 1970s. The show was sponsored by the Standard Oil Company of California (now the Chevron Corporation), but other than the name there were no commercials. The program featured a high quality introduction to classical music for young people growing up in the 1940s and early 1950s.

Dragon made a series of popular light classical albums for Capitol Records during the 1950s with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. Some of these recordings have been reissued by EMI on CD. Dragon appeared as himself briefly at the end of the 1979 film The In-Laws, conducting the fictitious Paramus Philharmonic.

Dragon also hosted a regular classical music radio show broadcast on the Armed Forces Radio Network—now the American Forces Network—well into the 1980s.