Concert features music of WW I

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Joseph N. Rubin’s Orchestra will come to the Valley on Nov. 11 – Veterans Day – to perform “Over There: The Music of World War I” in commemoration of the centennial of the Armistice.

The concert, presented by the Mahoning Valley Historical Society, will take place at 2 p.m. at the Tyler History Center, 325 W. Federal St., downtown. Tickets are $20 (reserved), $15 (general admission), $10 for MVHS members and $5 for veterans and active military. To purchase, go to mahoninghistory.org or call 330-743-2589. Tickets will also be sold at the Tyler Tuesday through Sunday between noon and 4 p.m.

Rubin’s Orchestra pays tribute to the music that won “The Great War” – the pop music of the war years,1914 to 1918.

Songs include “Over There,” “K-K-K Katy,” “Smiles,” “How Ya Gonna Keep ‘em Down on the Farm,” “Goodbye Broadway, Hello France” and more. Heidi Swinford, soprano, will recreate selections originally performed by Vaudeville stars Nora Bayes and Elsie Janis.

When the U.S. entered World War I on April 6, 1917, the battle had already been raging in Europe for almost four years. “Over There” will feature a selection of the songs that entertained both the troops in the trenches and the families back home.

All of the music will be performed in the original published orchestrations from the time period, most of which have not been heard since the end of the war. One highlight will be the comedy song “If He Can Fight Like He Can Love (Then Goodnight Germany)” by Akron native Grant Clarke.