Sounds of US Festival with Jennifer Koh

“The most important part of life is what we do for others.” 
Jennifer Koh

We have arrived at an historic turning point as a nation. We have survived a bitter election and are looking towards our 250th birthday in 2026. It is the right time to ask ourselves the important questions: who are we, what do we stand for, what does the future hold, and for each of us, what is our role, our mission in society. Artists excel at interpreting our world and answering these questions for us. Jennifer Koh’s Sounds of US festival couldn’t have come at a better time. 

“Sounds of Us” is an immersive new music festival at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Saturday, November 16, from 1-9 pm. It features over 40 world premiere commissions by the artist-driven nonprofit ARCO Collaborative in both ticketed concerts and free performances. Jennifer Koh, the creator and curator of the event and founder of ARCO Collaborative, was kind enough to chat with me about the festival. 

Nicole: What can we expect to see/hear? Tell us a little about the featured composers and why you chose them. 

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Jennifer: I conceived "Sounds of US" as a space for artists to lead us into the future through music. Music is a place of experimentation where sound connects us together in a communal space. Sounds of US is about dreaming a future together and because of that, I wanted to also include the next generation of musicians and mentor them through performances and collaborations with senior performers and composers. The future of US can be a place where we can dream together. The composers in this 1-day festival include the very best of this generation and the next. Our senior musicians include composers and performers Vijay Iyer, Carlos Simon, Angélica Negrón, and Eunike Tanzil. Our composers include great artists in the US regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation. They include inti figgis-vizueta, Leilehua Lanzilotti, David Ludwig, Jeff Scott, Alyssa Weinberg, Trevor Weston, and Nina C. Young. Our mentors and mentees include student composers and performers from the National Symphony Fellows program, the Juilliard School of Music as well as Juilliard School’s Pre-College program. I have asked all of our composers to write music that expresses their dreams of the future of the next 250 years in the US. 

NL: Tell us about Angélica Negrón’s Hear Here project, which is a featured work during the festival. 

JK: Angélica Negrón’s Hear Here is a unique crowd-sourced piece that invited all people throughout the United States to contribute sounds that reminded them of home. These have been woven by Angélica into a work that includes the voices of people living throughout the US and its territories. This piece includes the sounds of all of our neighbors and friends that have become a part of a beautiful new work of art by Angélica.  

NL: If you were a member of the public, where would you start during this festival—what shouldn’t you miss? How would you structure your day? 

JK: I have named these programs “To Begin,” "To Become,” and “To Be” because I wanted the entire festival day to be a journey and evolution for both the performers and audience. We open the first few hours of the festival with works written for open instrumentation which invites each audience member to participate sonically with kazoos that will be handed to every attendee. These are part of the free lobby concerts where I wanted to invite everyone to add their sound to the creation of a work that is a once in a lifetime experience because it cannot ever be repeated if they are not there! These are perfect for families because everyone can make sound and participate! Our free concerts also include performances and works by Oscar winners Rafiq Bhatia and Ian Chang, and my former student, Eunike Tanzil. Because of the architecture of The Reach, this is an opportunity for the audience to witness how musicians prepare for a concert and walk on and off stage. Also, you can meet a bunch of MacArthur, Grammy Award, National Medal of Honor, and Oscar winning artists throughout the day! I want the audience to be a part of every part of the process of making art! 

NL: The one-day festival represents the collective soundtrack of the U.S. at this point in our history, following the general election and poised to celebrate our 250th birthday in 2026. With new commissions from composers connected to institutions like The Juilliard School, Juilliard Pre-College, and Brown University—and performances by the NSO’s Youth Fellows alongside National Symphony members—how does this event give us a glimpse into the future of music in the U.S.? 

JK: All of us should be and feel valued for who they are. Each one of us is making choices that affect the future of our families, our neighborhoods, and this country. “Sounds of US” is an opportunity to listen to the fabric of this country and the abundance of stories of all of us living in this country. The musical experiences we are inviting people to partake in are a conduit through which we can listen to each other and the complexities that live within each of us and within the larger society we live in.  

NL: As someone who has a finger on the pulse of what’s happening in music now, what currents do you see? 

I hope that artists will lead us into the future, and I want to hear the sounds and stories of those who are unlike me and outside of my own world of experience. I want to see and listen to the best artists of our time regardless of their race, gender or sexual orientation. Because I believe that we learn more about our fellow human beings, when we learn and hear about their experiences and lives. I want to advocate for and create a platform for the best and most creative artists of our time. And I invite all of you to be part of this experiment.   

NL: What makes you hopeful? 

JK: Artists give me hope because they can speak and connect us to truths that we don’t necessarily experience every day. My community gives me hope because I see a generosity inside of them to take care of each other and the next generation of artists. The next generation gives me hope because I have witnessed their ability to see through pretense, advocate for causes they believe in and speak out for others. The most important part of life is what we do for others. The more people I see that embrace this philosophy gives me hope. 

NL: What frustrates you? 

JK: Many things frustrate me, but I utilize hope and determination to continue the fight for the things I believe are important. 

Jennifer Koh is a violinist and artistic director of the Kennedy Center’s Fortas Chamber Music Series. She is also the founder of Arco Collaborative, an artist-driven nonprofit organization that has helped to make this festival possible. I am grateful for the creativity, the beauty, the passion that artists continue to bring to our lives. And grateful for the opportunity to support them by attending their concerts. 

The Sounds of US is at the Kennedy Center Saturday, November 16, beginning at 1 pm.  

For more information, click here.