The Score | Presidential Tribute

In early December, the Symphony of Southeast Texas, based in Beaumont, received an urgent phone call from Sylvester Turner, the mayor of Houston. Could Chelsea Tipton II, music director of the Symphony of Southeast Texas, conduct the Houston Symphony in a memorial concert in Houston honoring the late President George H.W. Bush, who had died the previous day? Tipton would have two days to prepare a program including Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man, “Nimrod” from Elgar’s Enigma Variations, and “I Believe I Can Fly” with gospel singer Yolanda Adams. The tribute, held outside City Hall, went off without a hitch, and also included performances by several country-music stars, all favorites of the Bush family.