[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 459 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]







108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 459

Designating November 2004 as ``American Music Month'' to celebrate and 
   honor music performance, education, and scholarship in the United 
                                States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 10, 2004

  Mr. Durbin (for himself and Mr. Alexander) submitted the following 
             resolution; which was considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Designating November 2004 as ``American Music Month'' to celebrate and 
   honor music performance, education, and scholarship in the United 
                                States.

Whereas the music of the United States embodies the artistic reflection of the 
        country's history and heritage and the promise of its ideals and values;
Whereas the music of the United States transcends culture, gender, race, class, 
        and creed, and thrives freely as it is continually reinvented, 
        rearranged, transformed, and infused by the personal experiences of men 
        and women;
Whereas the music of the United States expresses the country's vital cultural 
        and social identities and empowers the people of the United States to 
        assert and preserve our pasts for a future, transforms the wondrous and 
        harsh experiences of the people of the United States into potent 
        messages that freely declare democratic choice and freedom of 
        expression, inspires social justice, enlivens collective action, and 
        reflects our Nation's dynamic social movements;
Whereas the National Federation of Music Clubs (NFMC) and its 17th president, 
        Ada Holding Miller, building on their efforts to create American Music 
        week in 1924 with the aid of Arthur Bodansky, conductor of the 
        Metropolitan Opera, and Walter Damrosch, conductor of the New York 
        Symphony Orchestra, established ``American Music Month'' and the 
        ``Parade of American Music'' in February 1955 to recognize music and its 
        importance to the social, cultural, historical, and educational 
        development of the United States;
Whereas by action of the NFMC Board of Directors in 1998, the celebration of 
        ``American Music Month'' was changed to the month of November in 1999 at 
        the request of Sonneck Society for American Music;
Whereas the leading arts and education organizations of the United States, such 
        as the Society for American Music, MENC: the National Association for 
        Music Education, the College Music Society, the Music Library 
        Association, the American Musicological Society, and Americans for the 
        Arts, continue to strive to stimulate the appreciation, performance, 
        creation, and study of music in the United States;
Whereas the month of November has witnessed the births of such artistic legends 
        as Scott Joplin (1868), William Christopher ``W. C.'' Handy (1873), 
        Aaron Copland (1900), Coleman Hawkins (1904), and Mary Travers (1937) of 
        the folk song trio Peter, Paul and Mary; the premiers of the New York 
        Symphony (1878), the Philadelphia Orchestra (1900), Jerome Kern's 
        musical, Show Boat, in Washington, DC (1927), Frede Grofe's Grand Canyon 
        Suite in Chicago (1931), and the first broadcast of the newly-organized 
        National Broadcasting Company (1926);
Whereas November 2004 marks the sesquicentennial of John Philip Sousa's birth on 
        November 6, 1854, and is an occasion to celebrate his monumental 
        contributions to the musical heritage of the United States;
Whereas John Philip Sousa's music continues to embody the unflagging spirit of 
        the United States and, as a product of a renaissance in the art and 
        technology of the United States, affirmed the previous generation's 
        contagious patriotism and profound love of country even as they 
        witnessed the brutalities of a Nation at war; his music was a fanfare 
        about and for all men and women of this United States and his rousing 
        melodies celebrated the best and worst of the diverse cultures and 
        emerging histories of the United States; even today, Sousa's music 
        conveys our Nation's indomitable spirit to the world; and
Whereas John Philip Sousa, as Director of the United States Marine Band from 
        1880 to 1892, brought ``The President's Own'' to unprecedented levels of 
        excellence and shaped the band into a world-famous musical organization, 
        and through White House performances, public concerts, and national 
        tours, the Band continues to maintain Sousa's standard of excellence for 
        the performance of the music of the United States: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) designates November 2004 as ``American Music Month'' to 
        celebrate music performance, education, and scholarship in the 
        United States;
            (2) recognizes that the musical heritage of the United 
        States should be honored, celebrated, and preserved for future 
        generations as expressions of this country's democratic 
        freedoms and indomitable spirit; and
            (3) requests the President to issue a proclamation calling 
        on the people of the United States to observe ``American Music 
        Month'' with appropriate ceremonies and programs to honor the 
        contributions of the music educators, performers, scholars, 
        conductors, composers and arrangers, librarians, archivists, 
        and curators of the United States for their tireless efforts to 
        foster greater understanding and preservation of the diverse 
        music and cultures of the United States through active 
        performance, education, and cultural engagement.
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