“America! America! God shed His grace on thee.” – Katharine Lee Bates, “America the Beautiful”
America has not always been home to Min Kwon, but as an immigrant from Korea and accomplished pianist, she salutes her beloved adopted county with a musical gift: America/Beautiful. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and The Juilliard School, Kwon serves as a professor at Rutgers University and is the recent commissioner of America/Beautiful, a production that includes more than 70 of America’s leading composers. For the project, they have each created their own variations of the patriotic song, “America the Beautiful.”
The original song, crafted by Katharine Lee Bates and Samuel A. Ward, was first published in its entirety in 1910. Included in many songbooks in congregations throughout America, “America the Beautiful” is seen by many as the unofficial hymn of the United States. There have been multiple efforts to give “America the Beautiful” legal status as a national anthem, but they have all been unsuccessful thus far. Kwon’s selected musicians have individually adapted the song. Each variation serves as a unique interpretation of American culture.
"As an immigrant, America has so many different meanings to me,” says Kwon. The project promises to exemplify the complexity and beauty of the United States.
Liliya Ugay is one of the composers Kwon has commissioned. A professor of composition at Florida State University, Ugay was born in Uzbekistan but immigrated to the United States at the age of 20 to continue her musical education. She hopes that, from her piece, a variation for solo piano, listeners will understand that America is a kaleidoscope of people, each with varied histories and passions.
Johannes Plenio
“In my piece, I simply felt free to show different sides of myself and my cultural background. I just feel great to be one of the many unique voices,” noted Ugay.
Each variation is currently undergoing filming, and since July 4, have premiered through a series of free streamed concerts. The event ends tonight with an in-person performance in a Brooklyn Catacomb. To watch the already recorded performances, click here.