As the Centennial of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier arrives next week, we are pleased to be able to share another work of art that has been created especially for this celebration.
In honor of the 100th year anniversary of the founding of the Tomb, the Arlington, Virginia-based opera company UrbanArias has commissioned two outstanding Americans to create music and poetry for a new set of songs, called UNKNOWN. The touching and poignant poems are by Marcus Amaker, the Poet Laureate of Charleston, SC. The music is by the award-winning composer Shawn Okpebholo, the Vanguard Opera Composer at Chicago Opera Theater.
UrbanArias has joined forces with arts organizations from across the United States – including Opera Colorado, Opera Birmingham, The Dallas Opera, Minnesota Opera, and the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts – to create a spectacular and dramatic film of the world premiere performance of these songs. The film of UNKNOWN will premiere online on November 11, 2021, commemorating both Veterans Day and the centennial of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and will be available free of charge for one month. Register to view the film at urbanarias.org
Watch a trailer for the film here:
Read Marcus Amaker’s poetry here:
Unknown Poems (urbanarias.org)
Read Shawn Okpebholo’s notes about writing Unknown here:
Program-Notes-for-Unknown.pdf (urbanarias.org)
Those of you who will be attending the SHGTUS Reunion and Centenary activities the week of November 8-13 will have the chance to attend the film premiere screening. For more information, go to UNKNOWN Film Premiere Registration
Please spread the word among your networks of colleagues, family, and friends about this beautiful short film.
v/r
Gavin McIlvenna
President & Public Affairs Chair
Society of the Honor Guard, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (SHGTUS)
“Soldiers never die until they are forgotten, Tomb Guards never forget”
