Veterans Day is a time to remember, honor, and celebrate our veterans’ service. I was fortunate to participate in two Sarasota events over the weekend.
On Friday, I performed with a resident of Arietta, a retirement community. Tom Koenig led a sing-a-long of patriotic songs, and I accompanied him on the piano. The residents were enthusiastic participants.
The highlight was seeing Arietta residents stand when we played and sang their particular song of the Armed Forces.
On Sunday we attended a Sarasota Pops concert, honoring veterans. It was a marvelous concert and a delightful afternoon. My favorite patriotic song sung on both days was Irving Berlin’s God Bless America..
Of course, veterans in the audience were again asked to stand for our recognition and appreciation. We may differ on various government policies, but we are all patriots. And we certainly want to honor the service of our veterans. No matter what our politics are, music brings us together.
By the way, led by Robyn Bell, Sarasota Pops is a local treasure. They perform in Bradenton at the SCF Neel Performing Arts Center as well as the Sarasota Riverview High School Performing Arts Center, a wonderful venue.
For this concert, the orchestra donated 100% of the profits to the Sarasota Military Officers Scholarship Fund. Bravo!