Sep. 5—SHANKSVILLE, Pa. — A Maryland choir will perform a musical tribute, "September Morning," on the 21st anniversary of the United Airlines Flight 93 crash at its namesake memorial site near Shanksville.

Composer David Kanter, a former U.S. Navy Band member who has spent decades writing and performing music in the Washington, D.C., area, has played the song in Maryland communities for years.

But Sept. 11 will mark the first time it will resonate across the grounds of Flight 93 National Memorial, he said.

Kanter said he wrote the piece in 2002 following the 9/11 attacks in New York City, Virginia and Pennsylvania.

He was at home that morning when a friend called and told him to turn on his television, exposing him to the reality that America was being attacked and the "ugly" images of devastation at the World Trade Center. He said the emotion he felt that day left a lasting mark, and before long he turned to his trombone to make sense of it all.

"I painted what I saw ... with my music," he said. "I wanted to express myself, and even though I myself am not a survivor, I felt their pain that day."

"September Morning" contains four verses written in an early American hymn style, with a short introductory narration, he said.

Kanter's wife, Annick Kanter-St. Hubert, will lead the choir. The ensemble includes members of the Burtonsville-based Church of the Resurrection.

They'll be joined by two musicians from the region — pianist Nicholas Carroll from Somerset and Thomas Simpson from Oakland, Md. Simpson will play a trumpet solo, Kanter said.

The morning ceremony will take place at the Memorial Plaza near the Wall of Names.

A second performance will be delivered at 2 p.m. near the Visitor Center, during which the choir will also sing several other works accompanied by Carroll, Kanter said.

National Park Service officials said staff at Flight 93 National Memorial are still finalizing details for the Sept. 11 schedule and that more information is expected to be released in the coming week.

The memorial's website shows that it will be open to the public on the anniversary. Shuttles will begin running from the memorial's parking lot at 7 a.m. that morning prior to the 9:45 a.m. ceremony.