Media

Here’s a few recent (as in a decade or less) appearances I’ve made and/or projects I’ve done.

First of all: A LONG, LONG WAY: ECHOES OF THE GREAT WAR (2014-15). This collaborative project, sponsored by the College of Liberal Arts, Wright State University, and CELIA, Wright State’s Center for Collaborative Education and Leadership in the Arts, brought together faculty from the Departments of History and English, as well as the School of Music, to create a series of events commemorating the centenary of the First World War. I led the effort, but lots of people helped with the truly heavy lifting. The events included three concerts – one of which was an epic production of Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem undertaken by the Dayton Philharmonic and several Wright State musical ensembles, under the direction of my brother, Keith Lockhart of the Boston Pops and the BBC Concert Orchestra – plus a large-scale museum exhibit on Dayton in the Great War. Here’s a few moments from that commemoration:

“While Your Hearts Are Yearning: Popular Music of World War I,” 11 October 2014: https://youtu.be/HEmRslRhTMI

“Voices of World War I” – dramatized readings from eyewitness accounts, 12 March 2014: https://youtu.be/LpW1T5VDi2c

A few of my book-related appearances.

Most recent: at Faneuil Hall in Boston seven years ago, for the Independence Day Patriotic Exercises. John King (of CNN) gave the official oration; I offered “remarks.” I’m not subject to stage-fright very much, not because I’m all that gregarious (far from it), but because I’m accustomed to teaching lecture sections of 400 or more students, so crowds don’t usually bother me. But speaking at Faneuil Hall … maybe not intimidating, exactly, but humbling, especially given the roster of true greats who have spoken there. Humbling — and a great privilege, too. Here it is, in its entirety (in case you’re interested, I’m about halfway through, just before John King):

Fourth of July Oration at Faneuil Hall, Boston, Massachusetts. July 4, 2011.

A while back (man, I looked younger ten years ago)… talking about The Drillmaster of Valley Forge at — you guessed it — Valley Forge! Imagine that. Anyway, it was my first talk on Drillmaster and C-SPAN graciously offered to record the event for BookTV. I think it aired sometime in February 2009. I didn’t get to see it until July 4, 2009. Interesting anecdote: my son Alex (who was three at the time) caught a glimpse of me giving this talk while I was channel-surfing that day. I can’t stand to watch myself talk (or listen to myself talk, either), but Alex insisted. I left him alone to watch while I went to the kitchen to wash dishes. A few moments later, I could hear him babbling, and as I watched him he was pushing one of his dinosaurs towards the TV and talking a mile-a-minute. I asked him what he was saying. He turned to look at me, a tad annoyed, and remarked with some exasperation, “I’m not talking to you. I’m talking to my daddy on TV.”

Ok, ok, it wasn’t that interesting. But it was cute. Here’s the video: