8/24 DC event: “Take me out to the ballgame”: The Music of American Baseball

[Silverskulls]

http://events.si.edu/133540527/TakeM...seballStadiums

National Postal Museum
Saturday, August 24, 2019, 3 – 4:30pm

In celebration of the Smithsonian Year of Music, join the National Postal Museum for a special program exploring the intersection of music and baseball. The panel will discuss the early origins of organ music in the sport, the instruments usage and popularity over time at stadiums, and the ways in which organ music, and music in general, have become inextricably linked with the experience of attending a baseball game. The panel will also examine the fascinating history of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," a song so significant it was memorialized on a stamp in 2008 to commemorate its 100th anniversary. Following the panel, there will also be a live concert of classic baseball songs performed by Josh Kantor, organist for the Boston Red Sox.

Presenters and discussants will include:
- Daniel Piazza: Head Curator at the National Postal Museum and curator of the upcoming NPM exhibition Baseball: America's Homerun
- Josh Kantor: Organist for Boston Red Sox home games at Fenway Park
- Matthew W. Mihalka: Instructor of Musicology at the University of Arkansas. His research addresses the use of music in 20th/21st century American society, particularly during sporting events.
- Andy Strasberg, former marketer for the San Diego Padres and co-author of "Baseball’s Greatest Hit: The Story of Take Me Out to the Ball Game." Andy was also the driving force behind the creation of the USPS stamp commemorating this great song.

Co-sponsored by the Smithsonian Year of Music, this free program is also presented in support of the National Postal Museum's upcoming exhibition "Baseball: America's Home Run," opening April 2020!

[Michael B]

For those that may be in the area the National Postal Museum is on Massachusetts Ave., N.E. between North Capitol St and 1st St., N.E. with the main entrance being on 1st Street. This is right next to Union Station which is also a Metro stop on the Red Line. A great museum to visit. I would wander into it every so often when my office was in Amtrak headquarters in a building on the next block.