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Led by Gov. Martin O'Malley, O'Malley's March will play 1812 concert with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in June.

THE BAND  IS SCHEDULED  TO PLAY  A GIG IN JUNE
ALONG  WITH  BALTIMORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
AS PART OF MARITIME FESTIVAL ON WAR OF 1812
 
Not since candidate Bill Clinton played the saxophone on the old Arsenio Hall late-night talk show in 1992 has a potential presidential candidate been as identified with music as Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley.

Sure, Harry Truman was known for playing the piano, but not before he was President in the 1940s and early 1950s. And World War II-era New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia was famous for singing “East Side, West Side” (from the tune, “Sidewalks of New York”).

But LaGuardia, a Republican, never ran for President. And Harry Truman never had to face grueling presidential primaries, having succeeded to office on the death of Franklin Roosevelt.

However O’Malley, a Democrat, is widely expected to run in 2016. Some say, in fact, he’s already positioning himself for the nomination, making national appearances as chair of the Democratic Governors Association.

On June 17, he and his band O’Malley’s March will join the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at a concert in conjunction with the Star-Spangled Sailabration, a maritime festival commemorating the War of 1812, which is scheduled to include more than 40 tall ships and naval vessels in the Inner Harbor.

To be held at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, the concert will be the second high profile appearance this year for the governor’s rejuvenated band, which played at the White House for President Barack Obama and the First Lady to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in March.

Having eschewed his music career as detrimental to what he referred to as his “gravitas” when he became governor in 2007, it appears O’Malley has had a change of heart in that regard.

When he was a Baltimore City councilman in the 1990s and then mayor for eight years between 1999 and 2007, he apparently wasn’t concerned about “presidential seriousness” or perceptions of the lack thereof, and his band was in its heyday.

In fact, the word “gravitas” didn’t even appear in the dictionaries of that period.

When Bill Clinton played the sax on “Arsenio” his critics said it was beneath the dignity of a person wanting to be President.

When Harry Truman played piano at the White House his critics said it wasn’t presidential. They also criticized him for helping his daughter Margaret, now a highly successful novelist, then trying to advance her nascent singing career.

Perhaps Hillary can get saxophone lessons from husband Bill?
 
—Alan Z. Forman
 
alforman@voiceofbaltimore.org