 Good afternoon. I'm honored to be joined today by John Morris Russell, better known to all Cincinnatians and music fans everywhere as JMR. He's a conductor of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. DAV will mark our centennial celebration with the Cincinnati Pops at 7 p.m. Tuesday, September 28th at Cincinnati Music Hall. JMR will be leading that special performance, which includes appearances by the West Point Glee Club and American Idol star Melinda Doolittle, JMR, Maestro. Tell us more about this special performance. Oh, thanks, Rob. You know, we were supposed to do this last year, but of course the pandemic pushed it off. But it gave us a little bit more time actually to really do a deep dive to celebrate this remarkable institution that has its roots right here in Cincinnati, DAV. And so we wanted to create a program where we celebrated DAV's last hundred years and how important of an institution it is for supporting our vets who've given so much for our freedoms that we enjoy here every day. As we've put together this concert script together as we were looking at the ways that we wanted to highlight and break down DAV's history and put it to music, you've been instrumental in assisting us with that. Can you tell us more about the role of music in times of war? Well, you know, it's interesting in putting together this program, so many of these pieces are related to the conflicts that happened when they were written. I mean, music is so important. It energizes and motivates. It is a morale booster as well, and not only for the troops, but also for everyone here on the home front. And when we hear this music, we don't only just hear the tune and the harmonies behind it, but we also hear the meaning that was put into that music when it was written. I mean, you know, when we perform something like the battle hymn of the Republic, and it tells a story of America. It tells a story of what democracy and what this nation is really about. Even when we do something like Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, you know, which is very lighthearted and fun, but we have to remember that that was performed and created in context of motivating GIs who were so far away from home and so many of them who gave the last measure of their being to defend a worldwide peace. So every piece in this program is tied directly to the story of 100 years of DAV. I love that. And you also had mentioned that Cincinnati, the city where DAV was founded, Robert Marks was the captain of the UC football team, University of Cincinnati graduate. The playhouse in the park is named after Robert Marks, the theater there. And, you know, we have this deep connection to the city, to that neighborhood specifically. Our first meetings were held in Memorial Hall right next door to Music Hall. Can you tell me a little bit about historically, give me some context for this amazing venue where this celebration is going to take place? Right. Of course, Music Hall and Memorial Hall were next door neighbors. I remember when I first visited the building, when we moved here in 1995, and I was just bowled away by the architecture and the care and the beauty of that venue. And if you look on the outside of Memorial Hall, you actually see statues on the pediment of soldiers from all of the major armed conflicts that had happened up to when the building was built. There's a Minuteman, there's someone from 1812, there's a Doughboy, there's someone from the Spanish American War, from the Civil War. It's almost as if those statues are looking down to all of us and saying, do not forget us, do not forget those people who've defended freedom in our country. And so, in a way, to create a concert, to celebrate the history of DAV, and also the remarkable sacrifice of so many men and women over the last 100 years is a really great honor. And we're looking forward to this very, very special performance. Just pretend for a second that instead of someone who's incredibly excited about this event, like I am, like you are, that you're talking to someone who's on the fence, maybe they don't think that a pop's orchestra is their thing, or that they want to get out on a Tuesday night and go to the show, sell us to them, JMR. This is a panoply of the American experience. We start off with a Cincinnati fanfare, which was written for us by Pete Anthony, a great Hollywood composer. I mean, Cincinnati is so important. And the name of our city comes after Cincinnati's, the citizen soldier of Rome. I mean, this city was built by the veterans of the American Revolution, who in lieu of payment and cash for their services to the country, they were given land right here. And so, we start off with the importance of Cincinnati as being the real heartbeat of veterans in the United States. We have performances from everything from Over There by George M. Cohen, Boogie Woogie, Bugle Boy, the theme from Mash, Reach Over Troubled Water, R-E-S-P-E-C-T, Beautiful City from Godspell, Battle Hymn of the Republic, America the Beautiful with spectacular performances of the Pops, the incredible West Point Glee Club, Melinda Doolittle, who's a real big fan of the Pops, and every time we get here to Cincinnati, it's always a joyous experience. We bring this all together to celebrate 100 years of DAV and also our men and women who have given so much to defend our nation's democracy and freedom around the world. That's amazing. And if you guys think that he talks well, you should see him lead an orchestra. He is amazing. Maestro, JMR, thank you so much for your time today. I want to remind everybody, Cincinnati Centennial Celebration with the Cincinnati Pops is at 7 p.m. Tuesday, September 28th. You can buy tickets at DAV.org slash Pops. Again, it's DAV.org slash Pops. Maestro, the floor is yours. Take us out. Well, thanks so much, Robin. And thanks for inviting us. And, you know, it's been over a year in the making, and it's going to be that much more special for it. And especially Music Hall is back open again. And our Pops and the Symphony are performing for people. And it's a beautiful time to come together and celebrate.