Over Here and Over There: The Music of World War I

Activity: Participating in or organising an eventConference

Description

From 1914 to 1917 World War I was the ‘Great War’ or the ‘War in Europe’ to Americans. But by late 1915 the United States had already taken sides, in effect, by beginning a campaign of ‘preparedness’ for entering the conflict. A gradual but inexorable shift to engagement followed; and in that shift, a crucial part was played by music—probably the cultural commodity that was most pervasively shared between the United States and England. In the years that followed, to the end of the war and after, music was a great force for unity, not only within the separate countries but across the ocean. The principle objective of this festival-conference was to bring to the general public a greater understanding of the part that British and American music played in bringing America into the war and sustaining the alliance thereafter. A secondary objective was to assemble information and performances that can continue to resonate and inform public understanding during the commemoration of War, to 2018 and beyond.
Period27 Feb 201528 Feb 2015
Event typeConference
LocationYork, United KingdomShow on map

Keywords

  • World War I
  • Music
  • international relations