My Name is Citizen Soldier
Music Frank Proto - Text John Chenault
Soloist Paul Winfield

The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra
directed by Klauspeter Seibel


World Premiere Performances September 14 and 16, 2000

The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra opened its 2000/2001 season with My Name Is Citizen Soldier, the multi-media work that places D-Day in a 60-year context and challenges the audience to consider seriously its legacy.

The 40-minute work was narrated by Paul Winfield, who played the part of a World War II veteran in a retirement home recalling his experiences to schoolchildren. Several series of actual radio broadcast clips transport the audience from the present day to the 1930s and brewing clouds of war and back again to 2000. It finishes with a probing question asking listeners to contemplate the legacy of D-Day and their own role in shaping the future.

My Name Is Citizen Soldier, commissioned with the help of a grant from the American Composers Forum, through its Continental Harmony Project is influenced by the book, Citizen Soldier, by World War II historian Stephen Ambrose who is the founder of the National D-Day Museum in New Orleans.

See program notes
See review
Photo Album
See original press release
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