WASHINGTON (April 9, 2019) – The Howard University Showtime Marching Band was recently featured on the opening night of Soundtrack of America, a five-night concert series, based in New York City, celebrating the unrivaled influence of African American music. The Showtime Marching Band joined acclaimed singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist Jon Batiste for a special collaborative performance paying homage to the Harlem Hellfighters, an African-American infantry unit who spent more time in combat that any other American unit during World War I.

Soundtrack of America’s five nights of performances marked the grand opening of The Shed, a new arts center in New York for creating and presenting original works of art across all disciplines.On Friday, April 5, Showtime marched into The Shed, from the street below, as a kickoff to Soundtrack of America and a public unveiling of the new creative arts space. 

Conceived and directed by Turner Prize-winning artist and Oscar-winning filmmaker Steve M^cQueen, and developed with music visionaries and academic experts, Soundtrackof Americatraces a musical “family tree” of spirituals and blues, jazz and gospel, R&B, rock and roll, house, hip hop, and trap that has inspired a new generation of artists who continue to develop that legacy. The program is being developed in partnership with 27-time Grammy Award-winner and Chief Music Advisor Quincy Jones, NYU Associate Professor of Music Maureen Mahon, preeminent producer Dion ‘No I.D.’ Wilson, A&R executive Tunji Balogun, and legendary Music Director Greg Phillinganes. For more information, visit https://theshed.org/program/series/1-soundtrack-of-america. 

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About Howard University

Founded in 1867, Howard University is a private, research university that is comprised of 13 schools and colleges. Students pursue studies in more than 120 areas leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University operates with a commitment to Excellence in Truth and Service and has produced four Rhodes Scholars, 11 Truman Scholars, two Marshall Scholars, one Schwarzman Scholar, over 70 Fulbright Scholars and 22 Pickering Fellows. Howard also produces more on-campus African-American Ph.D. recipients than any other university in the United States. For more information on Howard University, visit www.howard.edu.

Media contact: Ramzey Smith, Office of University Communications, ramzey.smith@howard.edu