November 14, 2026 7:00pm
The Amphitheatre at Veterans Memorial Park
400 South Sykes Creek Parkway, Merritt Island, Florida 32952
RESCHEDULED — Saturday, November 14 at 7 PM.
Red, White & Brass is rescheduled for Saturday, November 14, 2026 at 7 PM at The Amphitheatre at Veterans Memorial Park. The October 10 concert was postponed due to the storm. Admission remains free for everyone.
When
Saturday, November 14, 2026
7:00 PM
Where
The Amphitheatre at Veterans Memorial Park, Merritt Island
Get directions →
Admission
Free for everyone
Lawn seating — bring a chair or blanket
Come Early
Instrument petting zoo
6:00–6:50 PM and at intermission
A free concert honoring Brevard veterans
A salute to those who served.
A soaring, FREE patriotic celebration presented by SpaceX, honoring our Armed Forces with stirring music, magnificent voices and a community united in song.
SpaceX, the Merritt Island Redevelopment Agency and your Space Coast Symphony present Red, White & Brass, launching an exciting new concert series with an evening dedicated to Brevard County veterans. Aaron Collins leads your Space Coast Symphony Wind Orchestra and Space Coast Symphony Women’s Choir in a stirring salute to our country and the men and women who have served it. At the heart of the evening is a musical tribute honoring every branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. The profound emotion of John Williams’s Hymn to the Fallen and the familiar strains of America the Beautiful invite us to reflect, remember and celebrate together.
Adventure and discovery give this celebration its spark. Omar Thomas’s “Shout!” from Come Sunday draws on the musical richness of Black worship and builds to an ecstatic, full-throttle finish. Frank Ticheli’s Angels in the Architecture unfolds through mystery, turbulent energy and radiant beauty, while Eric Whitacre’s October offers a warm, unhurried moment of calm. The WORLD PREMIERE of Atlantis by Space Coast composer Mark Piszczek takes us into the imagined world of the legendary underwater city, and John Williams’s music from Empire of the Sun, Superman and Star Wars joins Sousa marches to round out the night. Performing this patriotic concert in support of our local veterans celebrates the spirit of innovation and discovery that continues to shape the region we call home. The Women’s Choir lends its voices to several selections, and audience members will help create the otherworldly sounds of Angels in the Architecture. Kids can explore real instruments at our instrument petting zoo and join Aaron during the concert for a conducting lesson.
Admission is FREE for everyone. Seating is on the lawn, so please bring your own chairs or blankets.
What's playing
TicheliAngels in the Architecture
Thomas“Shout!” from Come Sunday
PiszczekAtlantis World Premiere
WhitacreOctober
Williams“Hymn to the Fallen” from Saving Private Ryan
TraditionalArmed Forces Salute
DragonAmerica the Beautiful
WilliamsSelections from Empire of the Sun, Superman & Star Wars
SousaMarches
The artists
Aaron Collinsconductor
Space Coast Symphony Wind Orchestra
Space Coast Symphony Women's Choir
Beth Greenchorus director & soprano
Mark Piszczekcomposer
Know before you go
Plan your night.
Admission
Free for everyone. Just show up and find a spot on the lawn.
Seating
Seating is on the amphitheatre's tiered lawn. Bring your own chairs or blankets.
Parking & access
On-site parking at Veterans Memorial Park, including accessible spaces. Restrooms are on site.
Instrument petting zoo
6:00–6:50 PM and during intermission. Kids can try real instruments up close.
Kids conduct
During the concert, kids can join Aaron for a conducting lesson.
Take part
During Angels in the Architecture, audience members help create the sound with whirly sticks.
Program notes
Inside the music.
What does America sound like? A march that brings people to their feet. A hymn that gives us room to remember. The sweep of a great film score, the joy of a worship service, and the first notes of a piece no one has ever heard. Red, White & Brass puts them all on one stage.
The tribute
The heart of the night is our tribute to Brevard County veterans and every branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. Heard in a park dedicated to veterans, this music carries real weight. For some it brings back their own service; for others, a parent, a friend, or someone who is still missed. The Armed Forces Salute and America the Beautiful give that gratitude a voice we can share. John Williams's Hymn to the Fallen, written for Saving Private Ryan, is a moment to stop and remember the lives behind the tribute.
John Williams
John Williams is the most famous film composer alive, and his music fits the Space Coast's sense of adventure. Selections from Empire of the Sun, Superman, and Star Wars take us from childhood wonder to heroic flight to galaxies far away, and show how Williams can make an ensemble soar.
Eric Whitacre · October
Whitacre wrote October out of love for the month, and you can hear it: crisp air, changing light, warm harmonies that take their time. Listen for the way the instrument colors fade in, overlap, and fall away, as if the landscape were slowly changing in front of you.
Omar Thomas · “Shout!” from Come Sunday
Come Sunday celebrates the Hammond organ's central role in Black worship, reimagined for wind orchestra. Its title tips its hat to Duke Ellington. “Shout!” is the release: virtuosic, rhythmically charged, and joyful from the first bar to the last.
Frank Ticheli · Angels in the Architecture
A single voice opens the piece with a 19th-century Shaker song, the “angel” watching over everything that follows. Songs of peace and hope are challenged by turbulent, fast-moving music of fear and doubt, and again and again, the light returns.
For this performance, the sound reaches past the stage. Audience members will spin whirly sticks to help create the piece's strange, otherworldly atmosphere. Listen closely, follow the gesture, and you become part of the ensemble.
Mark Piszczek · Atlantis — World Premiere
Space Coast composer Mark Piszczek drew his inspiration from the legendary underwater city. There's no recording to look up and no earlier performance to compare it to. The composer, the musicians, and everyone on the lawn will hear it for the first time together, right here in our community.
John Philip Sousa
Sousa's marches have been the soundtrack to American gatherings for generations. They still come alive the moment a band takes a breath and the first notes ring out.
From remembrance to celebration, it's a night to hear America in all its voices, and to hear it together.
Free admission for everyone
RESCHEDULED — Saturday, November 14 at 7 PM.
The Amphitheatre at Veterans Memorial Park
400 South Sykes Creek Parkway, Merritt Island, FL 32952
Presented by SpaceX, with support from the Merritt Island Redevelopment Agency.
