O say can you sing? - Harvard Gazette

"Audience expectations around the song only add to the pressure, according to sophomore Bekuochukwu Uzo-Menkiti - one of several students performing the national anthem this year at Harvard games as part of a new collaboration between the Office for the Arts and Athletics. "The national anthem is something that you've heard at the Super Bowl. You've heard the Whitney Houston version, you've heard the Lady Gaga version. It's hard for people to hear someone sing the national anthem and not expect some kind of personal flair," Uzo-Menkiti said."

"If that weren't daunting enough, knowing how many people feel a deep personal connection to the song can raise the stakes even more, said senior Damla Yesil, who performed last month at a men's ice hockey game. Reflecting on her parents' experience as immigrants from Bulgaria and Turkey helped her prepare. "Once I got up there, all the nerves went away because I was like, 'Oh, this is not about me,'" said Yesil, a neuroscience concentrator from New York with a secondary in global health and health policy enrolled in the Harvard-Berklee Joint Studies Program."

"For junior Zeb Jewell-Alibhai, who moved to the U.S. from Portugal at age 8 and secured citizenship in January, his saxophone rendition to kick off the women's basketball home opener felt personally symbolic. "This is the first time I've played it since becoming an American," said Jewell-Alibhai, a double-concentrator in government and music enrolled in the Harvard-Berklee Joint Studies Program."

Harvard paired the Office for the Arts with Athletics to present student performances of the national anthem at campus sporting events. Students described the anthem's wide vocal range, large leaps, and audience expectations as significant technical and emotional challenges. Performers cited well-known renditions and the song's personal resonance for many listeners as factors that shape their approach. Several students connected performances to family immigration stories and recent citizenship milestones, using vocal and instrumental interpretations to convey both communal belonging and individual expression. The collaboration merges artistic skill with patriotic sentiment at games.

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