From the Hearts of Men Video Production Records, 1974-1976 | The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music

In the year leading up to United States' Bicentennial, the University's Office of the President commissioned WCIA-TV to produce a patriotic musical broadcast, celebrating the country's establishment. While the music would be chosen and conducted by Harry Begian, the University contacted Darell Blue to produce the broadcast. Blue had experience producing remote telecasts and, at the time, led the University of Illinois' WILL-TV station.

The program, which was called "From the Hearts of Men," was produced in the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts under the direction of Darrell Blue, Harry Begian, and Karl Volkers, who was the resident audio engineer at the University's School of Music. While the original production plan called for recording both the video and audio together in Krannert's Foelinger Great Hall, it was determined that the the video footage should be recorded in Krannert's Colwell Playhouse. As a result, Blue and Volker convinced Begian to pre-record the audio in the Great Hall, and then videotape the band's performance without audio in the Playhouse. Both audio and video tracks were recorded in two days before the start of the final examination period of the Spring 1976 semester.

Although the original concept for this broadcast included only music selections by John Philip Sousa music, Begian suggested the performance should include other American composers' music. Begian's final program included the following music selections: Mortin Gould's American Salute, David Wallis Reeves' Second Connecticut Regiment March, Jerry Belkirk's Civil War Fantasy, Karl King's A Night in June, John Philip Sousa's Semper Fidelis and The Stars and Stripes Forever; and Katherine Lee Bates' America the Beautiful. William Warfield, who served on the University's voice faculty, served as the narrator for this performance and the Symphonic Band performed the music.

Following the final edit of the program, the University's Office of the President offered copies of this special Bicentennial program to TV stations around the country, and eventually broadcast by more than 250 television stations across the country as well as the Armed Forces Network.