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David Miller, Navy Band, Visits 7 Cromwell Place

Mon, May 07, 2018 6:23 AM | Susan Colson (Administrator)

In the early 20th century,  Percy Grainger wrote a virtuoso concert work entitled In Dahomey (Cakewalk Smasher), in which he blended tunes from Will Marion Cook's Broadway show and Arthur Pryor's popular song. Grainger may have seen Cook's In Dahomey on stage in London in 1903 and he started composing his work that year, completing the score about 1909.

In this tribute to contemporary African-American music, the clash of the two tunes created what Grainger Society President Barry Ould has termed "a page of almost Iversian dissonance." After consulting with Barry, Petty Officer David Miller arranged In Dahomey and shared the final production with the Grainger world.  

Here is a conversation about how it happened.


See a list of David J. Miller's arrangements here

7 Cromwell Place, White Plains, NY 10601

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The Percy Grainger Society's programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

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