Tune Tuesday – Navy Hymn

After the Space Shuttle Challenger tragedy, our band director knew he wanted to pay tribute to the crew who had died. With only a week or two before our Winter Concert, we were surprised to find a new piece of music in our folders. Usually we’d work on concert songs for 6-8 weeks before performing it. The new song was the Navy Hymn. It is also known as Eternal Father Strong To Save.

We had a local pastor who was to be the narrator for our concert. Our director asked him to write something in tribute to the 7 astronauts who perished in the disaster. He was to read this while we played the Navy Hymn. His narration was perfect.

I truly wish I had the tape of this concert so I could print what he said. Before we rehearsed the number with him, our director had him read it to our band. I don’t know that there was a dry eye in the band room.

I have had the honor of playing the Navy Hymn at military reunions, and memorials. It truly is an emotional piece.

Today, on the anniversary of the disaster, we remember the crew of Challenger.