USNA Glee Club Sings at Detroit Lions Game

The Naval Academy Men’s and Women’s Glee Clubs performed during the opening ceremonies of the first Monday Night Football game of the 2014 National Football League season at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, Sep. 8.

The choir, composed of more than 50 midshipmen, sang several musical selections including the Navy and Marine Corps hymn and the “Star Spangled Banner” during the performance.

Opening ceremonies of the game honored the late owner of the Lions, William Clay Ford Sr. and were led by actor Jeff Daniels. Midshipmen were joined by members of the Ford family and Lions players representing the five decades during which Ford owned the team: Joe Schmidt, Charlie Sanders, Doug English, Barry Sanders and Jason Hanson.  

Ford, 88, died of pneumonia earlier this year at his home in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan.  He was the last surviving grandchild of Henry Ford and served in the U.S. Navy’s Air Corps during World War II.

“It is certainly always an honor to be able to sing the anthem and honor a great American,” said Cmdr. Rob Calhoun, USNA Glee Club officer representative and chemistry professor. “His connection to the Navy makes it certainly more special for us and to do it on the first game of Monday Night Football of the season is fantastic.”

While in Detroit, the mids visited the Henry Ford Museum. Named for its founder, the noted automobile industrialist Henry Ford, and based on his desire to preserve items of historical significance and portray the Industrial Revolution, the property houses a vast array of famous homes, machinery, exhibits, and Americana.

The collection contains many rare exhibits including John F. Kennedy's presidential limousine, Abraham Lincoln's chair from Ford's Theatre, Thomas Edison's laboratory, the Wright Brothers' bicycle shop, and the Rosa Parks bus.

The USNA Glee Club performs masterpieces of choral-orchestral literature with many of the nation's leading orchestras including the Annapolis Symphony and the Winston-Salem Symphony Orchestra. The choir has also performed at presidential inaugurations and ship commissioning ceremonies.