To say that 2020 was a difficult year for the United States would be an understatement. Covid 19 took the lives of 385,000 people. Racism and police brutality took the lives of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor, igniting nationwide and eventually worldwide protests. In California, the 4.2 million acres burned in 2020 were the most in a single year since records were kept, and more than the previous three years combined. Vicious election cycle rhetoric was boiling over, and conversations dominating cable news focused on what this country was, is or should be. Unemployment skyrocketed. People were isolated, sick, scared, and exhausted.

In thinking about ways one person could make a small difference, it occurred to me that in many ways amplifying the voices of others, whether it’s those of centuries past or ones of today, is an essential part of being a Classical musician. I decided to commission new works for violin from American and US-based composers, asking each one to reflect in some way on the time we were all living through. Some, like Kinan Azmeh, Christina Courtin, and Kojiro Umezaki have been dear friends for decades; others like Maya Miro Johnson, Ebun Oguntola, and Anjna Swaminathan were new connections; all were musicians whose artistry I respect and admire.

I reached out to presenters across the country, looking for commissioning partners. As more. parties signed on, the project grew; 22 new works were funded, written, and recorded; rising to the surface were themes like loss and uncertainty, but also joy, friendship, gratitude, and love.

The process of getting to know these new works was illuminating. I found comfort in works I knew how to approach; others required skills I wasn’t good at, or never tried before, pushing me into directions I never thought I’d be exploring, and at times stretching my comfort level to what seemed like its absolute limits. My first reaction to those works was trepidation, and the old saying “you fear what you don’t understand” rang in my head. I feel incredibly lucky to have had the composers gently guide me into their process, easing my worries with encouragement and allowing me to find my own way to bring their works to life. I'm definitely not a singer, nor can I play the guitar, but I’m glad I had the chance to try. I wish for all of us to experience that kind of thoughtful guidance when encountering things, people, or ideas we don’t understand.

My dear friend Justin Messina’s work is the most recent commission, delivered in early 2022 – and as such, is not included on the album – I simply ran out of time to record. Sorry, Justino. However, three works that weren’t originally part of this commissioning project are included: Layale Chaker, Dana Lyn and Akshaya Avril Tucker wrote about isolation, climate change, and recovery in 2018 – these universal themes will undoubtedly resonate for centuries to come.

Over the course of the last 18 months, I’ve come to think of this project as an anthology, a snapshot in time, documenting a tiny slice of the creative thought and output in this country today. I invite you to stop listening to pundits, extend your ears, open up your imagination, and trust the music to guide you into a challenging, complicated, and thrilling sound world – This Is America.

–Johnny Gandelsman