Solomon Merriweather, 14, of Springfield, Va. performed in dedication ceremonies for a new storytelling firepit at Valley Forge National Historic Park’s Muhlenberg’s Brigade on Friday, July 3, 2026 as part of the National Park’s America250 celebrations.

The 9th grader at West Springfield High School was part of an ensemble of students attending the prestigious Philadelphia International Music Festival (PIMF) featuring members of The Philadelphia Orchestra.

“It’s really a cool thing to do,” the young violist said, “to play in this place that was such a big part of America’s history, on America’s 250th birthday.”

Solomon is also a member of the Capitol Symphonic Youth Orchestra.

Two ensembles of eight string and wind instrumentalists ages 13 to 19 opened the festivities with selections of chamber music. The works included arrangements of patriotic tunes as well as some melodies that the American Colonists and even the court of King George would have heard.

The music echoed around wooden huts that replicate what Continental Army soldiers would have lived in during the winter encampment of 1777-1778, when General George Washington and Prussian military officer Friedrich Baron von Steuben transformed a weary militia into a disciplined fighting force to change the direction of the Revolutionary War.