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
The United States Naval Academy Department of Musical Activities involves over one thousand midshipmen (students) who participate in a number of ensembles: Men’s and Women’s Glee Clubs, three Chapel Choirs, the Drum and Bugle Corps, Pipes and Drums ensemble, Symphony Orchestra, a music theatre program, and several smaller ensembles. Many of these groups tour extensively throughout America and abroad, performing in major concert halls and with professional symphony orchestras. They have been featured on “The Today Show,” “Good Morning America,” “CBS Morning Show,” and have appeared in several nationally televised broadcasts of the “Kennedy Center Honors,” and a 20-year run on NBC/TNT’s “Christmas in Washington.” The Naval Academy also hosts a Distinguished Artists Series that presents world-class performers to the Brigade of Midshipmen and the general public on the stage of Alumni Hall. Among the most popular presentations in Annapolis are the annual Halloween Organ Concert, featuring Chapel Organist Monte Maxwell and a cast of one hundred midshipmen, the Christmas Messiah program and the spring Glee Club musical, a fully staged and costumed Broadway musical; all these events draw capacity audiences exceeding 4000 patrons. The Naval Academy Chapel Organ is one of the country's major instruments. Monte Maxwell serves as principal chapel organist. He was preceded by organist James A. Dale.