Annapolis, Maryland
The United States Naval Academy was founded in 1845 on the site of Fort Severn, and now occupies an area of land reclaimed from the Severn River next to the Chesapeake Bay. The Annapolis area was the home of a VLF-transmitter called NSS Annapolis, which was used by the United States Navy to communicate with its Atlantic submarine fleet. Students that attend the Naval Academy are enrolled in school for four years with a following five year commitment to serving in the Marine Corps or Navy. There is a typical average of around 4,500 students enrolled.
Music of Annapolis
In 1894, the uniform of the United States Marines Corp Band was prescribed for the Naval Academy Band, and wore that uniform until 1925. Zimmerman remained the bandmaster even after being offered the more prestigious position with the Marine Corps Band in 1897, and is perhaps best known for composing "Anchors Aweigh" in 1907, intending it to be an inspiring and timeless piece of music that could be used as a football marching song. Under Zimmerman's successor, Adolph Torovsky, the Academy Band made its first commercial recording, in 1920, using Zimmerman's "Anchors' Aweigh", and one of Torovsky's own pieces, "March of the Middies". In 1939, the Band began performing on Maryland radio stations and represented that state at the World Fair, while the director, Lieutenant Sima, composed the "Victory March", one of the most well-known and popular pieces produced at the Academy. Under Alexander Cecil Morris in the middle of the 20th century, the Academy Band performed on television for the first time, established a weekly radio show and acquired entirely new instruments and facilities.