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The Audite Nova concert and the painting on display at the Titus Brandsma Memorial during Woodstock Week both bear the title “We the People”—the opening words of the U.S. Constitution and closely connected to the independence of the United States, which we are commemorating this year. Who were the people who made up the United States in 1776, and who constitutes “We the People” today?
The U.S. Declaration of Independence of 1776 is depicted in an 1817 painting by John Trumbull that hangs in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington and measures 5.5 by 3.7 meters.
The painting depicts signers of the Declaration, 47 representatives of the thirteen states. In the painting, we see only white men. They were part of the political and social elite, and most owned at least one enslaved person.
The question is: Who are the people who make up the United States today? On Thursday, November 5, Audite Nova will perform 16 pieces of music. Each of these 16 pieces is connected to one or two people from contemporary American life. Familiar names include singer Dolly Parton, politician Bernie Sanders, and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. But the group also includes advocates for Indigenous rights, labor activists, a Salvadoran immigrant, and the American Pope Leo XIV. Together, these 18 individuals portray a cross-section of American society. The result is a contemporary response to the group immortalized in Trumbull’s painting.
Especially for this concert, the Lokaal9 painters’ group from Arnhem has portrayed all 18 individuals associated with the pieces we will sing in a single painting. The painting measures 8 by 2.5 meters. It will play a prominent role in Audite Nova’s concert on November 5 and will remain on display at the Titus Brandsma Memorial for the rest of the week.
Wednesday, November 4 through Sunday, November 8
Titus Brandsma Memorial – Stijn Buysstraat 11, Nijmegen (entrance via Keizer Karelplein)
Opening hours: daily, 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
Titus Brandsma Memorial, plek voor stilte - Titus Brandsma Memorial
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