Protestra 2025: Presidential Transition Protest, was a critical response to the onslaught of executive orders and policy proposals since President Trump’s inauguration that threaten individual rights and intentionally target marginalized groups. The title satirizes the Heritage Foundation’s “Project 2025: Presidential Transition Project,” a primary influence for many of these discriminatory policies. (While the organization has claimed that it is not affiliated with the President, it has boasted about its outsized influence on his first term in office.)

 

As was the case eight years ago, PROTESTRA is deeply concerned by government overreach that will deprive those on American soil—including many members of the PROTESTRA community—of their civil rights, such as restricted access to gender-affirming care for trans people, a disregard for the importance of diversity, government censorship of educational materials, and eliminating birthright citizenship.

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This administration appears intent on controlling the nation’s cultural narrative and has also taken official actions that directly impact the arts community. In an unprecedented move pulled directly from the authoritarian playbook, President Trump recently staged an effective takeover of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to prevent the venue from producing future events that feature performers in drag and whatever else he deems “anti-American propaganda”.

Freedom of expression is one of our most valued American ideals, and PROTESTRA unequivocally refuses to remain silent in the face of the Executive Branch’s desire to curtail this constitutional right. At the March 1 concert, the ensemble therefore chose to perform Dmitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5. There is perhaps no composer who better exemplifies the struggles of daily life under oppressive government censorship. Written in 1937 during the USSR’s totalitarian regime, this symphony and its subversive messaging alongside hope for rebirth remain ever relevant today.

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Through this concert, PROTESTRA specifically aims to support those most urgently threatened by the federal administration's recent executive orders: immigrants and migrant groups. The Trump Administration has officially labeled the migrants desiring to enter the United States at the southern border as an “invasion" to justify detaining and removing people forcefully, while simultaneously barring pathways for individuals to come to or remain in the country legally. In protest of mass deportations that separate families and threaten the safety of tens of millions of people, the concert featured chamber work Desert Shelter by J.E. Hernández. Scored for string sextet and choreography, Desert Shelter is inspired by real stories of migrants crossing the Sonoran Desert that Hernández himself heard while detained by ICE in 2013. In his notes about the composition, Hernández wrote: “I couldn't imagine a reality where these stories would go unheard, misunderstood, or serve as propaganda pieces for someone to use for their own gain. The sheer humanity and scale of these passages struck me to my core.” The work is a reflection on the difficulties many migrants face in search of a better life.

 

The third piece on the program, Unidades de Fuerza (Unity of Strength) by Edgar F. Girtain IV, was originally written for PROTESTRA’s inaugural performance and will now receive its New York City premiere. From the composer: “Unidades de Fuerza is a celebration of the joy and strength that come from solidarity…because when people work together, new horizons become visible and anything is possible.” Founder and Music Director Michelle Rofrano shared that “PROTESTRA is thrilled to return to an orchestral work so close to our origins as an ensemble. It’s emblematic of the community of musicians we’ve created, and we are more prepared than ever to use art to elevate human rights and stand up to injustice.”​