About this episode

This episode features pianist Min Kwon discussing her project America/Beautiful, which includes over 70 birthday songs for America's 250th anniversary.

There aren’t many musicians, classical or otherwise who aren’t presenting their own versions of a birthday song for America’s 250th. On this episode, we hear from Min Kwon, a pianist with a little activist nature on the side. Back in 2021 she started a project called America/Beautiful. Since then she’s commissioned over 70 composers to come up with their musical versions of what’s beautiful about America at this time using the song America the Beautiful as source material. Plus it was important to her because she has two daughters, with birthdays on Presidents’ Day and the Fourth of July.

People in this episode

Host: Judlyne Lilly

Guest: Min Kwon

Topics covered

• birthday songs
• America's 250th
• piano music
• composers
• activism

Keywords

• birthday songs
• Min Kwon
• America the Beautiful
• composers
• activism
• piano
• music

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: America/Beautiful

More episodes of The Second Street Dreams Audio Network

• HERE BE MONSTERS 2026 · May 21, 2026 · 19 min
• Requiem For America, The Native American Story · May 13, 2026 · 26 min

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