It was on today's date in 1944 that Martha Graham and her dance company first performed the ballet "Appalachian Spring" by Aaron Copland. The premiere took place at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. An evening of dance followed three days of chamber music performances in honor of the 80th birthday of music patron Elisabeth Sprague Coolidge, who commissioned Copland's score for $500. Copland found an old Shaker hymn called "Simple Gifts," which he used as a principle theme for his ballet. The austere but simple elegance of Shaker art reminded him, he said, of Graham's style of dancing, and tied in with her vague suggestions that the ballet would be about early American pioneers. Copland left the title up to Graham. Arriving in Washington for the rehearsals, Copland wrote: "The first thing I said to Martha when I saw her was, 'What have you called the ballet?' She replied, 'Appalachian Spring.' 'What a pretty title. Where did you get it?' I asked, and Martha said, 'Well, actually it's from a poem by Hart Crane.' I asked 'Does the poem itself have anything to do with your ballet?' 'No,' said Martha. 'I just liked the title and used it.'" Years later, Copland delighted in telling how people would come up to him and say, "Oh Mr. Copland, I can just see the Appalachian Mountains when I hear your music!"