MYSO Maestro Explains All
Macaroni. Feather. A Pony.
June 20, 2026 – Most people think of the US Revolutionary-era ditty "Yankee Doodle" as a simple nonsense song. But it's not that at all: every word and phrase has a meaning, and with the Mariposa Yosemite Symphony Orchestra ready to perform Morton Gould's "Yankee Doodle" (Variations) at its Saturday, June 27th "Independence Day Spectacular!" Concert, MYSO Founder/Conductor Les Marsden explains all.
Gould was one of those enormously gifted child prodigies who eventually became one of America’s great composer/conductors, at home in virtually all fields of concert and popular music. A staff musician at Radio City Music Hall at 18, radio musician/conductor/arranger for NBC at 19 and the same for Mutual Radio Network at age 21 in 1934, becoming a household name in his 20s. The MYSO has performed his "American Salute" during past Independence Day Spectacular! Concerts, but this year shares another piece from his treasure chest: the simply titled, three-minute brief "Yankee Doodle" (Variations.)
As for the original song itself? The word “Yankee” was derived from the Dutch “Janke” (“John”) and used by New World Dutch settlers derogatorily against the British. By the mid-18th century, the British themselves used the word sarcastically for the American colonials. “Doodle” was a term meaning rustic fool or gullible idiot. “A-riding on a pony”? The British cavalry rode well-trained, muscular mounts, verbally emasculating American rubes by placing them on—merely, “a pony.” “Macaroni”? From the 17th to 19th centuries, going on a “Grand Tour” throughout the Continent and/or beyond was a rite-of-passage for young, wealthy British aristocrats. A coming-of-age/educational/refinement process. From Italy, they returned with actual pasta or “macaroni” but were themselves referred to derisively as “maccaronis” or “macaronis.” Their attire was frequently over-the-top, including massive perukes. When the song describes Yankee Doodle having “stuck a feather in his cap and called it macaroni,” it’s again insulting the intellect and fashion sense of the American rubes. But Americans turned the tables by taking up the song themselves, proudly—to evoke the simple, honest pride which separated them from their taunters and thus, removing the song’s intended insult. There’s more to the etymology of “Yankee Doodle,” but hearing what Gould DID with it is, in Marsden's description: "sometimes music is worth a thousand words!"
Related: Mariposa Yosemite Symphony Orchestra to Celebrate 250 Years at Independence Day Spectacular Concert on June 27, 2026
The MYSO's 2026 "Independence Day Spectacular!" Concert on Saturday, June 27th will close out the orchestra's 21st Season/24th Year. The concert will be held at the same beautiful outdoor lakeside location as last year: the Episcopal Conference Center Oakhurst (ECCO) located just five miles north of Oakhurst at 43803 Highway 41, Oakhurst, 93644. The concert begins at 7:00 P.M., with intermission snacks available for purchase from the Yosemite High School Band Boosters.
Advance-sale tickets are available at the special discounted rate of $10 Adults/$8 Students, but may also be purchased at the door for an increased price. Marsden's complete program notes with complete backgrounds on composers, the circumstances of their works' compositions, of those works themselves and much more is available for reading, download or printing by visiting http://MYSO.live - where advance-sale tickets are also available for safe, secure purchase.
In addition to Gould's "Yankee Doodle," additional pieces on the program include Aaron Copland's "Appalachian Spring" and "Four Dance Episodes from "Rodeo," Sousa and Gershwin marches and more patriotic Americana. But read Marsden's program notes to discover why July 4th is not only not the "birthday" of the United States, but why that date itself should not be celebrated as the date of our independence from England - defended by none other than Founding Father John Adams, who was not only there in 1776, but was the greatest "shepherd" of that independence.
Contemporary drawings of young British "Maccaroni,"
Contemporary drawings of young British "Maccaroni,"
Four American Classical Masters, two of whose music is on the MYSO concert.
L-R - Morton Gould, William Schuman, Aaron Copland and Leonard Bernstein,
Morton Gould
The premiere of "Appalachian Spring" with (L-R) Choreographer/scenarist/principal
dancer as the ballet's "bride-to-be" Martha Graham and Erick Hawkins as the
"young farmer-husband,"
Aaron Copland, circa 1962.
Source: Mariposa Yosemite Symphony Orchestra
