America Festival Chorus honors veterans

In honor of those who serve the country, the America Festival Chorus will host its seventh annual Veterans Day Memorial concert in the Kent Concert Hall at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

“To me, it’s one of the most important concerts of the year for us,” said Craig Jessop, Ph.D., musical director of the AFC. “Oftentimes, the sacrifice the men and women of the military make is forgotten or not even known, and I think this is a very important event for us to do for them.”

Since their previous concert ended, the AFC has rehearsed for the Veterans Day concert, one of the first concerts they have ever performed, Jessop said.

“Traditionally, it’s packed,” Jessop said. “In fact, there were a couple of years we’ve had to go into an overflow situation.”

Free to the public, seating is first come, first served and U.S. Congressman Chris Stewart, a Utah State University alumn and retired Air Force B1 bomber pilot, will emcee the concert.

“We have the Daughters of the Revolution, who will be helping to usher along with our ROTC cadets,” said Elaine Olsen, Jessop’s assistant. “(The cadets) are both Army and Air Force from here at Utah State.”

Along with four ushers each from the two branches of ROTC, two honor guards from each side will present the colors during the concert, Olsen said, and the Daughters of the Revolution will have a special presentation.

“There’s always a combination of patriotic and sacred music,” Jessop said. “One of the high points of the event, to me, is we have a minute of silence for those who have given their lives in defense of the country, and then we play “Taps” to honor them, which is normally reserved for a military funeral.”

The chorus and orchestra will also perform the traditional Armed Forces medley, “Proud to Serve,” which salutes each of the five branches of the military and veterans are encouraged to stand as their song plays.

“It’s a brotherhood and a sisterhood that, it chokes you up, even though we’re singing very fun songs,” Olsen said. “It’s very neat, and Craig acknowledges them and then he salutes one of his colleagues who’s in the choir that’s also a retired military man.”

Veterans Day is a formal day marked on the calendar to give the nation a chance to thank American soldiers, past and present, for their service, said Lt. Col. Alex Dubovik, department head of aerospace studies in the college of humanities and social sciences.

“Most people are proud of their country and are happy to support the veterans,” Dubovik said, “but there’s only a precious few who will raise their hand and volunteer their lives to actually put on the uniform.”

M. Jon Kenworthy, head of the military science department, said Veterans Day is critical holiday to honor those who have fought for America.

“All the world wars and all the conflicts we’ve had, in the revolution, all of those freedoms that we have, those base freedoms are directly resulted from the efforts of veterans and people who have done the heavy lifting and the fighting so that we could enjoy this land of opportunity,” Kenworthy said. “So one day is not too much to ask of any.”

Dubovik said some places, like Logan, are generally appreciative to military service members and try to thank those in uniform. Kenworthy made the same observation.

“I’ve noticed as I go through the community and stop somewhere for lunch or I grab something to eat at a grocery store or whatever, the people of Logan are very appreciative to the military service members and often thank me,” Kenworthy said. “I try to kind of shrug that off and say thank you — not for me, personally, but for everybody who serves in uniform.”

At the end of the day, Dubovik said the biggest thing for soldiers is knowing the sacrifice they make and the freedoms the nation enjoys are appreciated. That appreciation lights the fire that motivates men and women to join in service in the first place.

“Everyone can have a job but few people can having a calling,” Kenworthy said. “If you can go to work every day and feel like you’re making a difference, that your contribution for that day matters, it’s a lot easier to get up in the morning.”

— lormialor@gmail.com