News

Anthem at History Happy Hour
February 2012 - The Baltimore National Heritage Area has invited us to show a preview of Anthem at the History Happy Hour on Thursday, February 23 at the Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel. This event is open to the public and will run from 5:30 to 8:30 pm. For more information, see the flyer or visit baltimore.org/events/id/4099.

Anthem's Musicologist in the News
February 13, 2012 - Be sure to Watch C-SPAN 3 television on February 18th at 1pm for a one-hour lecture/performance by Dr. David Hildebrand about "The Star-Spangled Banner" and other music of the War of 1812. This was filmed in October at the Maryland Historical Society and will be re-broadcast several more times, then permanently archived on the C-SPAN website. Further details can be found on www.1812music.org.

David has also been asked by classical radio station WWFM (wwfm.org) to produce a one-hour radio special about music of the War of 1812. It will be mostly music with minimal, scripted narration, which David is writing. Look for the WWFM and NPR broadcast dates, probably June of this year, on a future Anthem update.

And last but not least, David was recently invited to be filmed for a summer broadcast of "History Detectives" on PBS, as an expert analyzing a new-found manuscript of The Star-Spangled Banner. -- stay tuned!

David and his wife Ginger are the leading specialists in the music of Early America and have been performing together professionally since 1980. David has served as music consultant for a variety of projects ranging from museum exhibits to PBS television documentaries, including Liberty! The American Revolution, Jefferson: A View from the Mountain, and Rediscovering George Washington.

For more information on upcoming live performances and lectures, visit www.1812music.org.

Kickstarter Campaign
January 25, 2012 - We have launched a fundraising campaign on Kickstarter. We are trying to raise $20,000 in 30 days - a huge goal, yes, but only a small portion of the overall budget for the film. The new video (on the Kickstarter page) gives an overview of what the film is about, and more videos and information are on the ANTHEM page. Please take a look, and help spread the word!.

More New Anthem Previews
December, 2011 - Two new preview videos for Anthem are now viewable here - ANTHEM. Filmed in Annapolis - at St. John's College and at the United States Naval Academy - The Anacreontic Song and The Star-Spangled Banner are performed by members of the St. John's College Chorus and the USNA Glee Club.

New Anthem Preview
October, 2011 - A new preview video for Anthem is now available. It is a modified version of the video created for the PBS Premiere event in September, and now features new footage of our interview with Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley. During the interview, Governor O'Malley mentioned that he had written a song about the Battle of Baltimore. You can hear some of it in the new video, whch can be viewed here ANTHEM.

Anthem Preview at PBS Premiere
September, 2011 - The Baltimore premiere of the new PBS documentary The War of 1812 was celebrated at the Landmark Theatre Harbor East in Baltimore on September 26th. A new preview of the Make Your Mark Media documentary film Anthem was shown after remarks from Governor O'Malley and Larry Hott, director of The War of 1812. Anthem's director, Mark Hildebrand, participated in a Q&A session with the filmmakers after the film was shown. The War of 1812 debuted on PBS stations on October 10.

Anthem in Annapolis Newspaper
August, 2011 - The Capital published an article about Anthem and filmmaker Mark Hildebrand. It can be viewed here: http://www.hometownannapolis.com/news/LIF/2011/08/28-07/Filmmaker-plans-documentary-on-national-anthem.html

Anthem Fundraising Event
June, 2011 - Sharon Kennedy and Joe Budge hosted a fundraising event at the Bordley-Randall House. One of the oldest houses in Annapolis, Francis Scott Key's uncle Phillip Barton Key lived and practiced law there over 200 years ago. In addition to the filmmakers and historians working on Anthem, speakers included Bill Pencek, executive director of the Maryland War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission, and Dr. Edward Furgol, curator of the National Museum of the United States Navy at the Washington Navy Yard. Dr. David Hildebrand concluded the presentation by leading a sing-along of excerpts of several songs leading up to the War of 1812 that used the same melody as the Star-Spangled Banner.

2011 Utopia Film Festival
Mark Hildebrand and Eric Lund continued serving on the Core Committee for the 2011 Utopia Film Festival in Greenbelt, Maryland. Mark serves as Submissions Coordinator, managing the films submitted for the screening process. Eric participated in the screening process and serves as the festival's web master. MYM Media will again provide the promotional video for the festival. More information on Utopia 2011 can be found at www.utopiafilmfestival.org.

BBC Radio Interview
March 3, 2011 - Dr. David Hildebrand, lead musicologist for ANTHEM was interviewed by BBC Radio. The BBC World Service Morning Commute interview can be heard here worldupmc_20110303-1109a.mp3. David's portion of the interview is toward the end of the broadcast, at 47:40. More information on Dr. Hildebrand can be found here The Colonial Music Institute and here 1812 Music.

New Anthem Promotional Video
March 2011 - A new video about the Anthem documentary film project has been completed and can be viewed here ANTHEM. With interviews and footage from our recent visit to England, we focus on the songs written about the naval battle between the USS Chesapeake and the HMS Shannon.

Anthem Filming in England
January 16, 2011 - David Hildebrand and Ralph Eshelman have been filming with Mark Hildebrand all week in and around Oxford in the United Kingdom.

Day One was a roundtable discussion of the War of 1812 from the British perspective. Naval historians Justin Reay, John Wain and John Foreman and music historian Michael Wright met with David and Ralph at the old library at St. Edmund's Hall, Oxford University on January 11.

Day Two was spent with Count Nikolai Tolstoy, a member of the Sublime Society of Beef Steaks since 1966, discussing the history and music of British clubs and societies - the source of our national anthem's melody.

Day Three included a visit to Chesapeake Mill in Wickham, made from the timbers of the USS Chesapeake - captured by the HMS Shannon in 1813.

Day Four was spent at Sulgrave Manor - ancestral home of the Washington family and preserved by Great Britain and the US as a monument to the peace that has existed since the conclusion of the War of 1812.

Day Five wrapped filming in Abingdon, Oxfordshire at the gravesite of Commander George Raymond of the HMS Shannon who survived the battle with the USS Chesapeake and carried a musket ball in his arm the rest of his days.

Stay tuned for video highlights of this groundbreaking visit!

Urban Farm Documentary
December 2010 - Filming begins at Clifton Park in Baltimore. Real Food Farms is run by CivicWorks, Baltimore’s urban service corps and an AmeriCorps program. This documentary will follow the volunteer programs and progress of this urban farm program over the course of one year.

Brainstorming Sessions
November 2010 marked the beginning of regular meetings to discuss ideas for film projects. Open to the public, the MYM Media team meets on the first Monday of the month at the Annapolis Bookstore on Maryland Avenue. Projects can be scripted or documentary, with the current focus on short films that address social, educational and environmental issues.

Baltimore City Star-Spangled 200 Conference
Mark Hildebrand and Jason Vaughan attended the sixth Star-Spangled 200 Conference in Baltimore on November 10, 2010. The conference began at Fort McHenry at the old Visitor's Center. After presentations from Bill Pencek of the 1812 Bicentennial Commission and Vice Vaise of the National Park Service, they toured the Pride of Baltimore II and were treated to an artillery demonstration. Travelling to the Maryland Historic Society, attendees were shown several exhibits on the War of 1812. David Hildebrand gave a presentation on the music of the period now showcased on the new www.1812music.org web site. The conference wrapped up with tours of the Flag House, Fells Point and Patterson Park.

Donations and Fundraising
In May of 2010, Make Your Mark Media was designated as a tax exempt charitable organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the IRS tax code. In August we received a grant from the Edna Wardlaw Charitable Trust for our General Fund. Your donations, which are tax deductible, are needed to help us continue with our mission. Please contact Mark Hildebrand if you can help.