A musical transcontinental railroad celebration

This weekend will see a celebration of railroads and trains. “She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain” celebrates the 150th anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad with a Family Pops Concert featuring the USU Chamber Singers and the Cache Children’s Choir.

The event will be held Saturday night, Feb 9th  at 7:30 p.m. in the Daines Concert Hall at Utah State University. On KVNU’s For the People program on Thursday, the founding dean for the Caine College of the Arts Dr. Craig Jessop talked about the importance of the commemoration that put Utah on the map back in 1869.

“It was the culmination of many years of work. President Abraham Lincoln signed the bill that put forth a transcontinental railroad in 1863 in the middle of the Civil War. He had a vision of what would and could unite this nation. And, indeed it did.  It’s one of the great achievements, I think, of the American civilization. And one that we should justly celebrate, and Utah owns it because it all got completed right here,” explained Jessop.

He said the evening will showcase a great line-up of railroad songs and he said he is really steering the program towards children, who may know very little about the historic event. They will also have videos of vintage railroads including some footage from Promontory Summit where a big commemoration will be held in May.

In addition, model trains will be on display in the rock lobby outside the Tippetts Galleries in the Fine Arts Center from 6:30 p.m. until after the concert. Tickets range from $15 to $30.  For more information visit www.americanfestivalchorus.org

 

AUDIO:  Dr Craig Jessop talks railroads with host Jason Williams

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