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Program Note
Keep It Up was commissioned by the United States Air Force Heritage of America Band MACH 1 Commission to mark the 245th anniversary of the Siege of Yorktown, the decisive battle that ended with the British surrender and effectively concluded the Revolutionary War.

Legend has it that during the surrender ceremony, the defeated British troops deliberately turned their heads away from the Americans and toward their French allies. In response, the American fife and drum corps struck up Yankee Doodle, a tune once used by the British to ridicule the colonists, now transformed into a proud symbol of defiance and national identity. The evolution of that melody, from insult to anthem, mirrors the colonists’ own journey from humble rebels to the founders of a new nation.

Stories like these contribute to the almost mythical aura surrounding the American Revolution, an aura vividly captured by Italian-born painter Oscar De Mejo. An immigrant whose fascination with American history began in childhood, De Mejo developed a singular style that blended surrealism and primitivism. His depictions of the Revolution, including the surrender at Yorktown, are filled with whimsy, reverence, and playful distortion. They capture not just history, but the legend that history became.

Inspired by this spirit, Keep It Up unfolds as a set of equally whimsical variations on Yankee Doodle. After a fanfare opening, the piece begins in irony and mockery, then grows into a confident, exuberant, and triumphant declaration worthy of De Mejo’s fantastical vision. Along the way, fragments of other familiar tunes appear, including De Mejo’s own Bella Bimba, a nod to his early career as a jazz pianist and composer.