Penn’s 270th Commencement
I performed the national anthem to open the University of Pennsylvania’s Commencement. Penn President J. Larry Jameson called it a “moving rendition.”
View the commencement recordYou found it
Music is another
way I connect.
Alongside policy and public service, performance gives me another language for presence, culture, and community.
Hear the storyMore than a footnote
A room changes when people truly listen.
Music asks for the same things I value in public life: attention, interpretation, trust, and the ability to meet people where they are. It is a different kind of research into what moves us—and a reminder that connection often begins before anyone has the perfect words.
Selected performances
A few notes from the journey.
Penn Arab Music
As a soloist with Penn’s Arab Music workshops, I performed “Gafnuhu” and “Suwwar el Ard,” and shared the solo on “Hamilu-l Hawa / Ya Ghazalan.”
View the concert programThe coda
Policy is how I work on hard problems.
Music is how I remember the people inside them.