Lincoln Center and Brooklyn Public Library's 'Anthem to US'

Summary

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Podcast Summary: All Of It – Lincoln Center and Brooklyn Public Library's 'Anthem to Us'

Episode Date: January 23, 2024
Host: Alison Stewart (WNYC)
Guests:

• Shanta Thake, Chief Artistic Officer at Lincoln Center
• Jakob Orchos, Vice President of Arts and Culture at Brooklyn Public Library

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Main Theme

This episode centers on the collaborative initiative “Anthem to Us,” a partnership between Lincoln Center and Brooklyn Public Library. The project invites New Yorkers to create and submit original anthems, reflecting on community, democracy, and the evolving meaning of what it means to be American—just ahead of the country’s 250th anniversary in 2026 and during a pivotal election year. The conversation highlights the cultural significance of anthems, the community-building aspect of music, and the open, inclusive process for submissions.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Genesis of 'Anthem to Us'

• Idea and Timing:
  • The project arose as a way to mark the upcoming 250th anniversary of the U.S. and to engage the public in redefining and celebrating democratic values through music.
  • “We always think it's an opportunity to celebrate… what it means to be a participant and to really activate our community around this idea that their voice matters.”
    — Shanta Thake (02:33)
• Significance for Libraries:
  • The Brooklyn Public Library views itself as a “wide open platform” and aims to give everyone a voice, especially during these “unprecedented hard times.”
  • “We really wanted to provide an opportunity to the people throughout the city… to add their voice to this amazing list of anthems.”
    — Jakob Orchos (02:56)

What Makes an Anthem?

• Commonalities:
  • Anthems like “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” “This Land Is Your Land,” and “America the Beautiful” are unified by their shared sense of community, uplifting spirit, and inclusivity.
  • “These are songs where we all learn the words, we sing together. They speak to our belief in a larger community and being a part of something, not being apart from something.”
    — Shanta Thake (03:59)
• Invitation for Modern Interpretations:
  • The initiative is open to completely new works, reinterpretations, and any form participants feel drawn to.
  • “Anthem is a very poignant genre and it's a loaded genre… We are not replacing the anthem. We are actually taking a cue from the beauty of all the anthems.”
    — Jakob Orchos (04:37)

Open Call & Workshop Details

• Submission Details:
  • Open to all—submissions due by February 6, 2024, at anthemtous.org
  • The application is simple; a brief sample of writing and thoughts is all that's required (05:55).
  • Over 100 participants will be chosen for workshops.
• Workshops:
  • Selected participants will work with professional composers (Damien Sneed, Martha Redbone & Aaron Whitby, Jaime Lozano) and musicologists to craft their anthems.
  • “It's really meant to be very easy to really add your thoughts. What are you thinking about right now? A sample of writing.”
    — Shanta Thake (05:55)

Performance & Community Engagement

• Live Performances:
  • Final compositions will be performed live at Lincoln Center’s Damrosch Park during the Summer for the City Festival, and at Brooklyn Public Library on July 4th weekend (08:56).
  • This public celebration intends to showcase and amplify the diverse voices that make up the city.

Workshops as Civic Renewal

• Goal:
  • Workshops aim to help participants re-express their relationships to America, past and present—honest about challenges, but hopeful for beauty and unity.
  • “We want to renew this relationship… It was hard, it will be hard, but it was beautiful and it will be beautiful.”
    — Jakob Orchos (08:11)

Notable Musical Moments

• Whitney Houston’s “America the Beautiful” (01:18)
• Damien Sneed’s “God Bless America” (06:49)
  • “Damien Sneed. Now, somebody might hear that and think I'm now intimidated… but that's where the workshops come in.” – Alison Stewart (07:58)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Meaning of an Anthem:
  • “They speak to our belief in a larger community and being a part of something, not being apart from something.”
    — Shanta Thake (03:59)
• On Open Participation:
  • “We guarantee freedom and we really want to listen to people what they have to say.”
    — Jakob Orchos (04:37)
• On Facing Hard Times Together:
  • “Let's face it, we are living in a very hard time, really unprecedented hard times. So what people want to say about this, how they look into the eyes of the beast, how they they embrace our reality…”
    — Jakob Orchos (04:37)
• Reflections on Past Song Projects:
  • “It was one of the highlights of last year for me… the idea of everyday New Yorkers and individuals taking ownership of these songs that really do belong to all of us.”
    — Shanta Thake (09:59)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:31 – Show opens, theme set by Alison Stewart
• 01:15 – Introduction to the concept of an anthem, Whitney Houston clip
• 02:12 – Guests introduced
• 02:33 – Origin and significance of Anthem to Us
• 03:59 – What makes a song an anthem
• 05:55 – Submission process and workshops described
• 06:49 – Damien Sneed’s “God Bless America”
• 08:11 – Jakob Orchos on the workshops as civic renewal
• 08:56 – Details on live performances, event logistics
• 09:59 – Shanta Thake on judging community song projects
• 10:43 – Closing and encouragement to participate

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Overall Tone

The conversation is open, encouraging, and civic-minded, reflecting both hope and realism about the complexities of national identity. The guests’ language is thoughtful and inclusive, consistently highlighting music’s role in uniting communities and fostering belonging.

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For Listeners

This episode is for anyone interested in community arts, civic engagement, or exploring what American identity means today, particularly through the lens of collective song. “Anthem to Us” invites all New Yorkers—regardless of background or musical experience—to participate in re-imagining the American anthem for today’s world.

For more details or to submit your anthem idea, visit anthemtous.org.

Transcript

[Uncle]

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[Nephew]

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[Alison Stewart]

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[Nephew]

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[Uncle]

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[Nephew]

Listener supported WNYC Studios.

[Alison Stewart]

This is all of it. I'm Alison Stewart live from the WNYC studios in soho. Thank you for sharing part of your day with us and thanks to everybody who came out last night to the green space for our listening party live event with Future Islands. Also to everybody who watched on the live stream, we talked all about their forthcoming album, people who aren't there anymore. There were five very electric performances. It was a great night. Really good energy in the room. If you didn't get a chance to see the live stream or you weren't able to be there, you're in luck. We're going to replay it on the radio on Friday. That is in the future. But right now, let's talk about anthems.

[Damien Sneed]

Oh beautiful.

[Alison Stewart]

Laugh a spacious sky.

[Damien Sneed]

Forever waves of rain.

[Alison Stewart]

That's Whitney Houston's version of America the Beautiful, one of America's most enduring patriotic anthems in a category alongside compositions like lift every voice and sing this land is your land and of course, the star spangled Banner. And this year, you have a chance to add your own original anthem to that canon with the help of the Brooklyn Public Library and Lincoln Center. On Friday, the two organizations launched Anthem to Us, a month long initiative involving workshops and tutelage from professional composers, which will amount to live performances of a select few compositions in the summer. Joining me now to talk about the collaboration are Shanta Thake, chief artistic officer at Lincoln Center. Welcome back, Shanta.

[Shanta Thake]

Thank you.

[Alison Stewart]

And Jakob Orchos, vice president of Arts and culture for Brooklyn Public Library. Jakob, nice to meet you. Very nice to meet you, shanta. It's our 250th anniversary in a couple of years, 2026. Of course, this is an election year. Where did the idea for the Anthem project come from? Why did it feel right to do it this year?

[Shanta Thake]

Well, we always think it's an opportunity to celebrate what as we head into the 250th anniversary of this country and democracy and all that stands for, to really point out what it means to be a participant and to really activate our community around this idea that their voice matters.

[Alison Stewart]

Jakob, why did it make sense for the Brooklyn Public Library to be part of this project?

[Nephew]

We like to say that libraries are Wide open platform for everyone. And we really wanted to provide an opportunity to the people throughout the city working with Shantae Lincoln center to add their voice to this really amazing list of anthems. This is one of the most evocative genres what we ever know. And this is a time when we thought that it would be interesting to open the doors wide open to everyone to think about and rethink what a country means now and what a community community means now. And this is hopefully going to be a very interesting process and learning curve for all of us to hear what people have to say about this.

[Alison Stewart]

Shanta when we think about anthems, a few that were mentioned in the press release, We Shall Overcome, My Country Tis of Thee, America the Beautiful. What do these songs have in common? What does a song need to be anthemic?

[Shanta Thake]

Oh, it's such a great question. But I think when you think of those particular songs, it's this idea of community uplift. These are songs where we all learn the words we sing together. They speak to our belief in a larger community and being a part of something, not being apart from something. And so I love the idea that there's somebody right now that has a new anthem or an additive anthem for all of us to sing together.

[Alison Stewart]

Jakob that's what I was going to ask.

[Interviewer]

Are you looking for new pieces, modern pieces, reinterpretations of other anthems? What are you looking for?

[Nephew]

I'm really looking forward to hear what each and every participant has and want to say about it. This is an open platform. We guarantee freedom and we really want to listen to people what they have to say. Anthem is a very poignant genre and it's a loaded genre. Genre. So we are not replacing the anthem. We are actually taking a cue from the, from the beauty of all, all the anthems. And, and let's say, let's face it, we are living in a very hard time, really unprecedented hard times. So what people want to say about this, how they look into the eyes of the beast, how they they embrace our reality with keeping the what Shanta was mentioning the poignant, evocative nature of, of the anthem.

[Interviewer]

We are discussing the initiative Anthem to Us with collaborator Shanta Th, chief artistic officer at Lincoln center, and Jakob Oros, vice president of Arts and Culture at Brooklyn Public Library. The Brooklyn Public Library and Lincoln center are collaborating on this effort. So let me just get to a couple nuts and bolts because people are maybe getting excited about this. Shanta the deadline to submit is February 6th. What are you asking people to submit by February 6th, and how do they submit?

[Shanta Thake]

They submit by going to anthemtous.org and it's a very short application. It's meant to be very easy to really add your thoughts. What are you thinking about right now? A sample of writing. And from there, we'll pick over 100 participants that will participate in workshops, really hearing from musicologists, from our friends at the New York Performing Arts Library about what is an anthem and how to create lyrics that speak to that. And then partnering after these workshops with composers Damien Sneed, Martha Redbone and Aaron Whitby and Jaime Lozano.

[Alison Stewart]

The composer Damian Snead, you just mentioned will be one of the participating composers. And we have a cut of a version of God Bless America from him. Let's listen to a little bit of it.

[Damien Sneed]

God bless America Land that I love Stand beside her and guide her with the light through the light from above from the mountain to the prairie to the ocean Wide with fire God bless America My home sweet home of God bless America My home sweet home.

[Alison Stewart]

Damien Sneed. Now, somebody might hear that and think I'm now intimidated. I'm not sure if I can participate, but that's where the workshops come in. Jakob, what are you hoping that the workshops provide for people?

[Nephew]

It's an opportunity to, I should say, to renew our vows to our community and our country. It's like, you know, think about relationships and look into the eyes of the beast, the reality. You are such and such. This is how we navigated so far. And we want to renew this relationship. But renewing meaning that we want to be realistic about this. It was hard. It will be hard, but it was beautiful and it will be beautiful. So this is what I'm really expecting to hear, how people are going to be able to frame this complicated process.

[Alison Stewart]

And then there's going to be an event as part of Lincoln Center, Summer in the City. Would you explain what's going to happen? Shanta?

[Shanta Thake]

Yeah, we'll be able to hear these anthems live. So after this workshop process happens and all of the compositions are paired with these amazing composers, we will hear them all live at Damrash park of our Summer for the City Festival and also at the Brooklyn Public Library. So there'll be two different performances on July 4th weekend.

[Alison Stewart]

And Jakob, where can people go to submit.

[Nephew]

Online on our website and linkocenter's website. We're working with Queen's Library, Queen's Public Library, too. So the application form is available on their website, too. And as Shanta mentioned this, it's a pretty simple process. So please take a look.

[Alison Stewart]

So while you're here, Shanta, we're using this opportunity to tease our own public supported music project, the Public Song Project. We're announcing this year's plan and opening submissions next month. But you were so kind to be a judge last year and you've agreed to come back and be one of our judges this year. Would you share a little bit about the experience and why you agreed to come back?

[Shanta Thake]

Yeah, of course. It was one of the highlights of last year for me and certainly an inspiration point, I think, for Jakob and I as we went into this Anthem for Us project. But this idea of everyday New Yorker and individuals taking ownership of these songs that really do belong to all of us and making them their own and reinterpreting and adding to this incredible quilt that we have of music and art living in the city.

[Alison Stewart]

We're all looking forward to it. It'll launch next month, so everybody keep listening for that. Also, you can write an anthem for Anthem to Us. My guests have been Shanta Thaik, Chief Artistic officer at Lincoln center, and Jakob Orsas, Vice President of Arts and culture at Brooklyn Public Library. Good luck with the project.

[Shanta Thake]

Thank you so much.

[Nephew]

Thank you.

[Alison Stewart]

Last year, we actually had a public song submitter do a version of the Star Spangled Banner. Dan Walsh told us he arranged his version shortly after January 6, 2021, and that he was inspired by Igor Stravinsky's unconventional, quote unquote illegal version from 1944. So to get us all in the mood, let's go out on it. Credit Dan Walsh for this one. That was Dan Walsh Public Song Project coming up next month.

[Uncle]

I'm gonna put you on, nephew.

[Nephew]

All right, unc.

[Alison Stewart]

Welcome to McDonald's.

[Nephew]

Can I take your order, miss?

[Uncle]

I've been hitting up McDonald's for years. Now it's back. We need snack wraps. What's a snack wrap? It's the return of something great. Snack wrap is back.

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