Glens Falls Chronicle Serving the Glens Falls/Lake George region; Warren, Washington and northern Saratoga counties since 1980
By Cathy DeDe, Chronicle Managing Editor
Hudson Falls native Tony DeSare, backed by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, is scheduled to sing the National Anthem before the Pittsburgh Steelers-Baltimore Ravens game on Thursday, Oct. 1.
CBS will telecast the game nationally, but there’s no assurance they’ll show the anthem. Kickoff is 8:25 p.m., Tony told The Chronicle in an e-mail interview, “so I assume I’ll be on right before that.”
Official confirmation wasn’t due until after The Chronicle went to press on Tuesday, but Tony said, “I don’t expect any surprises, and I believe it’s solid, as the entire orchestra is set to be there.”
He said he’s never performed the National Anthem at any event. “It is definitely on my music ‘bucket list.’ I’ve never even been to an NFL game before, so I guess I’m kind of crossing off two things!”
He says he is invited to stay for the game at Pittsburgh’s Heinz Field, “but I will have to play it by ear. I have a four-hour rehearsal with the symphony earlier that day and another rehearsal and performance the next day, so I may want to get some rest.”
He admits, “I’m not really a football fan. I’m more of a half-watch the Super Bowl kind of football fan.”
But he said he’s “excited about singing the anthem at the Steelers game…It very well may be the most people I’ve sung for at once. Especially when the television audience is factored in, it will be the largest audience I’ve ever performed for.
“This is definitely something special and new for me and, sure, it will be a little nerve wracking.” He said he likes the challenge. “It’s getting harder and harder to get to do things musically that are scary, and this certainly qualifies!”
Tony will perform “Sinatra and Beyond” with the Pittsburgh Symphony on Oct. 2, 3 and 4. Tickets are priced from $24 to $99.
Tony is also working on a new Christmas album. “The recording process and instrumentation is something new for me,” he says. “I’m working hard to try to get it out by mid-November. I’m also on the road a lot this fall with different symphonies all over the country.”
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