Statehouse Musical Protest

Excerpt of Frank Ticheli's "An American Elegy", originally written for the Columbine shooting and performed as part of a musical "perform-in" at the Ohio Statehouse in April of 2018. The statehouse performance consisted of 27 consecutive performances of the piece: once for every fatal, active shooter school shooting since Columbine with a dedication for each, plus a final undedicated performance as a placeholder for a shooting that we had hoped would never occur. (Sadly, just a month after this performance, the shooting in Santa Fe, TX put a name to this final iteration.) The event brought together almost 50 musicians from various backgrounds for a common day of music and contemplation on how we can end these shootings together. Students and faculty from Kenyon College, Marietta College, and Muskingum Univeristy were in attendance, in addition to community members. This video is from the performance dedicated to the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL.