Why pomp and circumstance at graduation

Then, Henry J. The stirring nationalist song premiered at the coronation on August 9th, In , Elgar took a trip to America to receive an honorary doctorate from Yale. The song quickly became associated with commencement ceremonies and spread to Princeton, the University of Chicago, and Columbia.

Soon, every American university was using it. Visit our blog to learn more about university history and traditions. JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. Menu Search. Shop By Color:. Ceremony Planning. Quote Request. Student Ordering Portals.

Order Forms. Dedicated Account Team. Contract Pricing. Custom Product Design. The marching song prompts instant recognition for many Americans, who have been hearing it played at graduations of all kinds as far back as the early s. The tune began its association with American graduations four years later at Yale University, when Elgar was given an honorary doctorate.

It just became the thing that you had to graduate to. The riff played by school bands across the country is just a section from the first of Elgar's six "Pomp and Circumstance Marches," a reference to a passage from William Shakespeare's Othello.

He lent his name to the Edwardian age. The tune began its association with American graduations four years later. That happened at Yale University.

That's when Elgar was given an honorary doctorate. It was played as he walked offstage. It was not played as he walked up to get his diploma. So did the University of Chicago [and] Columbia. That's what he told NPR. He is a music expert. It just became the thing that you had to graduate to. Kimberly Sena Moore wrote for Psychology Today. It has been used for graduations for a long time. It's been used so long that everybody knows what to expect when they hear it. It is just like robes.

Create account. June 19, Melissa W. Visual separator. November 04, Melissa W. In honor of the CDC signing off on the approval of COVID vaccines for ages this week, we wanted to give a nod to all of the pharmacists working around-the-clock to administer them across the country.