The community is invited to a free America at 250 concert on June 13

By James Albright, chair of the Mason District Arts Council

Cellos, violins, and a euphonium take center stage this Saturday at a community event in honor of our nation’s semiquincentennial, also known as the 250th birthday of the Declaration of Independence.

The Mason District Arts Council’s Mason Arts 250 program is presenting “America the Beautiful at 250,” an afternoon of music and poetry, on June 13 at John Calvin Presbyterian Church, 6531 Columbia Pike, Annandale.

The Mason Arts 250 series kicked off last Sunday with a free concert by the NoVA Lights Chorale.

The America the Beautiful will start at 3 p.m. with an instrument “petting zoo.” Performances showcasing local musical talent and the results of the Mason Arts 250 Poetry Contest will follow at 4 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Grammy winner and Annandale High School orchestra director Annie Ray will conduct one of the orchestras.

Related story: Annandale teacher Annie Ray wins a Grammy

Irving Ray, a member of the U.S. Army band, Pershing’s Own, since 2016, will perform “Pearls III” by Roland Szentpali on the euphonium.

Mark Evans, a professional cellist and music educator who has worked as a guest clinician and conductor at Annandale High School, will play the cello.

The concert will feature the Parent Orchestra, founded by Annie Ray in 2018 to dispel the misconception that adults can no longer learn how to play an instrument.

The Parent Orchestra has more than 250 parents of orchestra students in elementary, middle, and high school and is part of the Fairfax Arts Coalition for Education.

The America the Beautiful concert will open with the Annandale Buskers, a group of Annandale High School students who organized for the Mason Arts Festival last fall and have continued to perform.

In addition, the event will include the announcement of the winners of the poetry contest, organized by Mason District Arts Council member Lisa Lowry.

Poem entrants began with a consideration of “The New Colossus,” written by Emma Lazarus in 1813, and used that poem as an inspiration for crafting original poetry. The winning poem and the two honorable mentions will be read aloud between musical performances and will be posted on the Mason District Arts Council website.

The Mason Arts 250 series includes several community events and activities this month aimed at reimagining the ideas of the American Revolution and engaging the public through the arts.

Upcoming Mason Arts 250 events:

• June 20 – “Passages,” a free performance of oratory by historical reenactors, musical performances, and one-act plays at the Pozez JCC of Northern Virginia, 2 p.m.

• June 27 – Residents are invited to participate in a community mural project in central Annandale in collaboration with the ArtLords collective.

• June 27 – Wishing tree installation. Between now and then, residents are asked to write down their ideas about “What is My America” on ribbons. The ribbons, available at Mason 250 events, will be collected and displayed on a “wishing tree” at the Eileen Garnett Civic Space.

From our founding generation 250 years ago, we inherited an aspiration to create something that didn’t exist. In a world of kings, they imagined self-government. They called people equal. Our history is one of ebbs and flows. We make progress, and we regress. What will be next? What will be the legacy of our time? What will our future be?

Now it is our time to imagine together what doesn’t yet exist. We call on the power of artists/creatives and community members to help all of us together reimagine the ideas of the American Revolution.