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NEW COMMISSION FOR GRAHAM ASHTON
The Australian Embassy has invited Graham Ashton to compose for the ANZAC Day Ceremony on April 25th at the National Cathedral in Washington DC. The work will preceed the Australian and New Zealand National Anthems and include traditional music from both countries. Graham will also be arranging music of John Barry for solo soprano, boys choir, brass quartet, harp and organ.
ABOUT ANZAC DAY
Australians and New Zealanders commemorate the ANZAC Day public holiday on April 25th every year to honor the bravery, and sacrifice, of the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), and those who have served their country in time of war.
The ANZAC tradition began in 1915 during World War I, when the Allied troops landed at Gallipoli on the Turkish Aegean coast. Due to a navigational error, the ANZACS came ashore about a mile north of the intended landing point. Instead of facing the expected beach and gentle slope, they found themselves at the foot of steep cliffs - offering the few Turkish troops defending the position, an ideal advantage. The ANZACS established a foothold, but an advance was impossible. After eight months of stalemate, the Allied troops withdrew, leaving 10,000 dead amongst the ANZACS.
Although the ANZACS were a minority of the half-million Allied troops who served at Gallipoli, they were often at the vanguard and became renowned for their stoicism and bravery.
Ten per cent of the New Zealand population, then just under 1 million, served overseas during World War I, New Zealand therefore had the highest casualty and death rate per capita, of any country involved in the war.
In Australia and New Zealand, the ANZAC Day commemoration features solemn 'Dawn Services' - a tradition started in Albany, Australia on 25th April 1923. 'Dawn Services' are now held at war memorials throughout Australia and New Zealand and, indeed, in many countries around the world where ex-patriot Australians and New Zealanders reside. Services are accompanied by thoughts of those lost at war, and accompanied by ceremonial sounds of 'The Last Post' on the bugle, and the third and fourth stanzas of Laurence Binyon's poem, 'For the Fallen'.
The last known Gallipoli veteran, Alec Campbell, died in May 2002.
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