August 4, 1964

This article is about the musical composition. For events on this date, see August 1964.
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra presenting the premiere of August 4, 1964.

August 4, 1964 is an oratorio for mezzo-soprano, soprano, tenor, baritone, choir, and orchestra written by the American composer Steven Stucky with a libretto by Gene Scheer. It was commissioned by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in honor of the centennial of the birth of 36th U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson. The piece premiered September 18, 2008 at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, with conductor Jaap van Zweden leading mezzo-soprano Kelley O'Connor, soprano Laquita Mitchell, baritone Robert Orth, tenor Vale Rideout, the Dallas Symphony Chorus, and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. The work specifically follows the events of August 4, 1964 during Johnson's presidency, including the Gulf of Tonkin incident and the discovered bodies of three murdered civil rights workers in Neshoba County, Mississippi.[1]

The piece was nominated for the 2013 Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition.[2][3]

  1. ^ Stucky, Steven (September 2008). August 4, 1964 (world premiere). Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  2. ^ Paget, Clive (February 13, 2013). "Classical GRAMMY Awards 2013". Limelight. Archived from the original on 2015-05-18. Retrieved June 13, 2015.
  3. ^ "Grammys 2013: Complete list of nominees and winners". The Baltimore Sun. February 11, 2013. Retrieved June 13, 2015.