Sing Democracy 250- A Chance to Celebrate America's Democracy

As the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence approaches, Sing Democracy 250 aims to harness the power of choral music to remind Americans to participate in their democracy. Chorus America recently sat down with the Sing Democracy 250 founders, Gary Aamodt and Celia Ellingson, as well as Sing Democracy 250’s 50 States Program director Tina Sayers, to discuss their vision for this powerful new project. In this interview, the Sing Democracy 250 team shares their inspiration for Sing Democracy 250, the composers chosen, why choral music has the power to inspire unity in a divided world, and how you can get involved in their next steps. 

The driving force behind Sing Democracy 250 is your Together In Hope Project- from that project what inspired you to create Sing Democracy 250? 

 Celia: We strongly believe that choral music has a unique ability to reach people—bring them to new understandings, open hearts, open minds, and inspire them to action. We decided to use choral music and apply it to situations where music could be a force for healing, reconciliation, and advancement on, what we call, some “issue of our shared humanity.” In our first project, we had decided to mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation with a new major piece of music. . It was world premiered in a joint Lutheran-Catholic interdenominational event in Washington, DC, in 2017, and the following year we took it to Rome at the invitation of the Vatican. Our next project was in partnership with the USA for UNHCR (the Refugee Agency). We delivered a world premiere of “The Stranger” in Trondheim, Norway, and the US premiere in St. Paul  in 2022.Next, we concluded that the most urgent issue, in our view, is that democracy is threatened in the world generally, but in this country also. We were aware of the upcoming 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026. We decided to see what we could do for finding text and creating new music to mark the 250th birthday of our country. 

Gary: We have two composers, Brandon Boyd and Michael Bussewitz-Quarm, who are involved in creating the music for this. The first composition, “Redeem the Dream” by Brandon Boyd is based on “Let America Be America Again”, a poem by Langston Hughes that he wrote in 1935. It's an outstanding poem — it reflects honestly on America’s history and our shortcomings in living up to the ideals of the Declaration of Independence, but it ends on a powerful note of hope that America can do better. The text for the second of the pieces, “US” by Michael Bussewitz-Quarm, is based on Richard Haass’ book “The Bill of Obligations” that just came out in 2023. He is the former head for 20 years of the Council on Foreign Relations. People ask him, “Richard, what's the threat to the United States? Is it Russia? Is it China? Is it Iran?” And he says, “No, the greatest threat to the United States is not those things, but it's within.” Richard is deeply committed to preserving and strengthening democracy, here and abroad.

 Why do you feel music is the answer to a divided world? Why do you feel Sing Democracy 250 is needed right now? 

 Gary: We have this wonderful opportunity, as Americans, to reflect on the America’s 250th  birthday and what it really does mean. We go back to the Declaration, and we understand what it means. It means that we have dedicated ourselves to this journey, and to this experiment to be a democratic country.  Choral music has the uncanny ability to take language, set it in the context of musical sound, and transform and convey that language in a way that no other medium can. We could talk and talk and talk the words of Langston Hughes or Richard Haass, and that's one thing. But if we set them to music, we have a whole different experience. We are lovers of choral music, we're lovers of this democracy, and this is an opportunity to enhance both.  

 Celia: Music has fueled social change throughout history, from protest anthems to solidarity tunes, and it's helped to forge connections between and among communities. It's our goal to use that unique power of music in this situation.  

 You have concerts planned for 2026 in multiple cities as well as having a tab on your website for others to organize their own Sing Democracy 250 event. What would a Sing Democracy 250 choral event look like? 

 Celia: The core of the program is the two major compositions, and it's our vision that those two compositions would be performed in their entirety, along with the “Star-Spangled Banner” and “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” Other details of these performances might vary, depending on what that choral leader wishes to do, the size of the community, and the resources available. There will be three different options for the accompaniment. It's a choral work but it can be performed with a full symphony orchestra, or  with a chamber ensemble of twenty players, or with just a piano and a drum set.  

 Gary: We want them to be as creative as they can be. At first, we were just going to do a chamber orchestra version and the piano percussion version. But Brandon, one of the composers said, “I think we should do a full symphony version.” And he said, “I've got a wonderful orchestra at my university as well as my choir, I want us to be able to do that and have a big event.” So, I'm glad we're doing the full orchestral version, and I'm glad the composers were so cooperative, and saw the opportunity as well. 

 Celia: The music is designed to be accessible and of interest to high school singers in particular. Young people are the next generation of citizens. This music is intended to be engaging, educational, and empowering for both singers and audiences, but we’re especially excited about involving young people. We're encouraging people to make it a community event. It could be in an outdoor stadium with hundreds and hundreds of singers, if you want. It could be on the steps of a state capitol building, with folks out on the grassy mall in front, in a concert hall, school auditorium, or church or other religious facility. Whatever works in that particular community.  

 If people want to get involved, what steps should they take? 

 Tina: The application window will be from January 15, 2025, until May 15, 2025. Anyone that would like to commit to doing a performance of this program can apply to receive free scores for their choir. The idea is to include as many people as we can in this project. We want to have people from small communities, rural communities, large communities, high schools, colleges, community choirs, and everything in between. We want people to feel that they will be able to pull this off with whatever resources they have. And we're here to offer suggestions or help at any stage of the process.  We hope they will reach out to us via our website, which is www.SingDemocracy250.org, and they can sign up for our newsletter. If they do that, they'll get monthly updates that will give them more information about what stage of the project we're in, news about the project, and when the applications are opening and closing, so that they can stay in the loop and be the first to know what's around the corner.  Our goal is to have choirs in all 50 states participate in this. So, this is really a nationwide event. The more people across the country that do participate, the more unity and the more combined energy and spirit and affirmation of democracy we will feel together. 

Celia: Through this project, we really think we will be able to see and hear America sing. This is what we do to try to make a difference in this world. And music is the mechanism, the medium for that. We are thrilled to be able to apply it to something we think really can make a difference for this country ‒ and choral leaders can play a huge role in it. 

 Tina: This is something that people in another 50 years, on the 300th anniversary of America can pull out and perform again. I think it's a wonderful gift for our nation and music community.