Nearly One Hundred Participants Took Part in Immersive Writing Program Penning New Songs For America’s Canon
Top Three Songs Performed Live at Lincoln Center on Independence Day Weekend
For images and lyrics, click here.
NEW YORK—Jessy Tomsko, a Queens-based composer, lyricist, librettist, singer/songwriter, and music educator, was awarded top honors in Anthem to US, a months-long project in which members of the public were invited to create a contemporary anthem to add to the nation’s songbook.
Jaquetta Bustion and D L Newton, both of Brooklyn, were finalists for their songs We Are US and Big Country respectively.
Presented by Brooklyn Public Library and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in collaboration with New York Public Library for the Performing Arts and Queens Public Library, the project celebrated the anthem genre, which has historically uplifted, inspired, and reflected pivotal moments in our nation's history—offering unique opportunities for participants to collaborate with leading writing instructors, composers, and musicians.
“I am so grateful to have been part of the one-of-a-kind, once-in-lifetime experience that has been Anthem To US! I will forever treasure this journey and the incredible people I met along the way, and I hope the words I wrote will bring hope, joy, and inspiration to anyone who hears and/or reads them,” said Tomkso. Thank you to everyone who has made this possible; it has been a dream come true.”
Earlier this year, nearly 200 people, of all backgrounds and ages, submitted applications to Anthem to US. Of those, approximately 100 people were selected to participate in intensive guided writing workshops where they explored themes, song structures, and melodies across diverse styles. Outstanding song lyrics emerged from the workshops, and a small group of applicants advanced. You can learn more about the writing instructors here.
In the later stages of the project, Tomsko, Bustion, and Newton were paired with composers who set music to the lyrics. They included Jaime Lozano, Damien Sneed, and the composer duo Martha Redbone and Aaron Whitby, who composed the music for Tomsko’s winning entry.
The winning anthem was chosen by a panel of judges who included Roseanne Cash, Laurie Anderson, Sandra Cisernos, and Anthony Banfield.
All three songs were included in a free concert at Lincoln Center Saturday evening which celebrated anthems of hope, peace, protest, and resilience from every generation, as part of their Summer for the City festival. Tomsko joined Martha Redbone and Vuyo Sotashe to sing Let Them Fly. Additional performers included Miko Marks, Theo Bleckmann, rising star violinist Amaryn Olmeda, the award-winning Ivalas String Quartet, Shandela Contreras, and Claudia Acuña, and iconoclastic American pianist and NPR host Lara Downes.
“It has been thrilling to watch this process unfold with our fantastic collaborators at Brooklyn Public Library—bringing people together and offering this opportunity for them to submit their own unique ideas and inspirations,” said Shanta Thake, Ehrenkranz Chief Artistic Officer of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. “It was pure magic to hear the final anthems performed live, and to see our neighbors and communities come together in celebration of the multitude of voices that exist within our nation.”
“The Anthem to US project started in 2020 when Brooklyn Public Library convened 32 town halls, crowdsourcing ideas for the 28th amendment to the constitution,” said László Jakab Orsós, Vice President of Arts and Culture, Brooklyn Public Library. “Anthem to US has similar aspiration: inviting people from all walks of life to write lyrics to an anthem which mirrors our reality. The intention of the project is to provide New York City library patrons and the public the inspiring experience of writing as one of the most democratic art forms and, at the same time, exercising the enormous responsibility of writing an anthem to our country. This way the public gets heard as an active, full-hearted, and invested participant in democracy and a library and performing arts center remain dedicated to sharing the power of the written word.”
"This was an excellent program that was a joy for The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts to be a part of. Thank you to everyone who took part, including the composers who helped put the inspiring lyrics to music and all of the participants who gave it their all. And congrats to the winner Jessy Tomsko, as well as the finalists Jaquetta Bustion and D L Newton. Bravo!” said Dr. Kevin Parks, Curator of Music and Recorded Sound Division at the Library for the Performing Arts.
“Anthem to US was a tremendous experience for Queens Public Library contestants,” said Rita Karl, QPL Director of Programming. “We congratulate Jessy Tomsko, her fellow finalists, semi-finalists, and all of our participants on their journey of discovery about what it means to be an American at this moment. We want to thank Lincoln Center and Brooklyn Public Library for their leadership and our QPL instructor, Rebecca McCartney, for her work with our lyricists.”
About Brooklyn Public Library
Brooklyn Public Library is one of the nation’s largest library systems and among New York City’s most democratic institutions. Providing innovative library service for over 125 years, we support personal advancement, foster civic literacy, and strengthen the fabric of community among the more than 2.6 million individuals who call Brooklyn home. We are a global leader in the fight for the freedom to read through our Books Unbanned initiative, offering teens across the US access to the library’s online catalog. We provide nearly 65,000 free programs a year with writers, thinkers, artists, and educators—from around the corner and around the world. And we give patrons millions of opportunities to enjoy one of life’s greatest satisfactions: the joy of a good book.
About Lincoln Center’s Summer for the City
Lincoln Center’s Summer for the City presents hundreds of free and choose-what-you-pay events each summer across multiple outdoor and indoor stages on its campus. From social dance on the plaza to outdoor concerts in Damrosch Park to comedy nights under the plaza to orchestra concerts in David Geffen Hall, summer at Lincoln Center offers something for everyone.
About Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA) is a cultural and civic cornerstone of New York City. The primary advocate for the entire Lincoln Center campus, our strategic priorities include: fostering collaboration and deepening impact across the Lincoln Center resident organizations; championing inclusion and increasing the accessibility and reach of Lincoln Center’s work; and nurturing innovation on stage and off to help ensure the arts are at the center of civic life for all. LCPA presents hundreds of programs each year, offered primarily for free and choose-what-you-pay, including many specially designed for young audiences, families, and those with disabilities.
About Queens Public Library
Queens Public Library is one of the largest and busiest public library systems in the United States, dedicated to serving the most ethnically and culturally diverse area in the country. An independent, non-profit organization founded in 1896, Queens Public Library offers free access to a collection of more than 5 million books and other materials in 50 languages, technology and digital resources. Each year, the Library hosts tens of thousands of online and in-person educational, cultural, and civic programs and welcomes millions of visitors through its doors. With a presence in nearly every neighborhood across the borough of Queens, the Library consists of 66 locations, including branch libraries, a Central Library, seven adult learning centers, a technology center located in the nation’s largest public housing complex, five teen centers, two bookmobiles, and two book bicycles.
About The New York Public Library
For over 125 years, The New York Public Library has been a free provider of education and information for the people of New York and beyond. With over 90 locations—including research and branch libraries—throughout the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island, the Library offers free materials, computer access, classes, exhibitions, programming and more to everyone from toddlers to scholars. The New York Public Library receives millions of visits through its doors annually and millions more around the globe who use its resources at www.nypl.org. To offer this wide array of free programming, The New York Public Library relies on both public and private funding. Learn more about how to support the Library at nypl.org/support.