The New Colossus - "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses"

To celebrate America's 248th birthday, the USAF Band of Mid-America's Concert Band is joined by The St. Louis Children's Choirs performing "The New Colossus," also featuring vocal soloist Airman 1st Class Jessie Dunnavant.

One of the most recognizable monuments in the United States, the Statue of Liberty was a gift from the people of France in 1885 and has since become a national symbol of liberty and freedom. The poem "The New Colossus" was written by Emma Lazarus in 1883 to help raise money for construction of a pedestal for the Statue of Liberty's arrival. In 1903 it was cast onto a bronze plaque and mounted inside the pedestal's lower level. Lazarus considered the poem a way to comfort refugees immigrating to the United States, and to demonstrate to them that the country represented freedom, enlightenment, and compassion.

Video Production: 2d Audiovisual Squadron, Hill AFB, UT    / @2avs_afpaa  
Executive Producer: Maj. Justin Lewis
Producer: Sam Morse
Producers: Master Sgt. Jeremy S. Martin, Tech Sgt. Bryan Andrews
Audio Engineer: Senior Airman Mike Peloquin
Music by: Brett Stewart
Music Arranged by: Master Sgt. Jeremy Martin
Unit Operations: Senior Master Sgt. Kristen Hammiel
Concert Band Enlisted Leader: Tech Sgt. Meghan Yankowskas

Special Thanks to The St. Louis Children's Choirs:
Dr. Alyson Moore, Artistic Director
Ben Nordstrom, Executive Director
Olivia Leek, Choir Manager
And to the choir members and parents - THANK YOU FOR JOINING US!

For more information, visit us on the web and social media:
https://www.music.af.mil/bands/us-air...
  / bandofmidamerica  
  / usafboma  
  / bandofmidamerica