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
Over the course of more than a century, the Naval Academy Music Department has had just four civilian musical directors. J.W. Crosley, who in 1923 composed the music to Navy Blue and Gold, the Naval Academy alma mater, was followed in 1943 as Organist/Choirmaster by Donald C. Gilley who established the hugely popular annual performance of Handel’s Messiah. In 1972, Dr. John Barry Talley took over the reins as Director of Musical Activities, a position he held until his retirement in 2006. Under Dr. Talley’s leadership, the Academy’s music program grew to international stature. Talley was succeeded by Dr. Aaron Smith.