Teen Composes Music for Trump’s Inauguration — and Crosses His Fingers
Patriotic young American is doing his share to 'Make America Great Again'
A Midwest composer, musician, producer, and filmmaker has written an orchestral composition entitled, “We the People,” that he is hoping will be performed at President-Elect Trump’s inauguration in January. This motivated artist is often busy creating original works — but he has his fair share of homework, too.
Ashton Gleckman, 16, is the middle child of Ari and Jennifer Gleckman of Indianapolis, Indiana. While busy in pre-production for his documentary film, “The Theory of War,” the piece of music he has composed to honor Donald Trump is consuming his thoughts right now. He has given a file of the produced piece to people he has met through campaigning for Trump — and is hoping it falls into the right hands.
“What really began this process was the interest in politics I have been developing,” Gleckman told LifeZette. “My fascination is with how things function in the world, and how politics operate. In the past couple of years I’ve studied conservativism and liberalism, as well as each policy position of the candidates. Mr. Trump in June of 2015 announced his White House bid, and I was fascinated in the reaction of the people.”
Gleckman jumped in with both feet, joining Trump’s Indiana campaign efforts during the primaries. “Every week I would go out and walk different sections of this state canvassing, and it was fascinating to observe and listen to what people were concerned about. Jobs, and safety — people think that the government should be focused on our safety.”
“I’ve heard people say this entire race that people are ready for change,” Gleckman continued. “The country has been static for eight years, and like Dinesh D’Souza predicted back in 2012, Obama has lowered our standing in the world with deals like the Iran deal. When you bring jobs back, you improve productivity, and then you’ll really be helping the inner cities.”
Gleckman was able to meet Donald Trump “for about 20 seconds” after a late-April rally at the Indiana State Fair. “He came around to sign autographs, and he asked me how things were going in Indiana,” Gleckman recalled. “He was very interested in how the canvassing was going. I told him how enthusiastic people are, and he thanked me for the work I had done. He was very, very kind.”
“We, the People” started as a simple melody in Gleckman’s mind during the primaries. “I had almost the whole song just in my head,” he noted.
From there, Gleckman put it down on paper, creating the score in mid-February, months before he would meet the candidate in person. “I loved writing it, and I was trying to express patriotism — there is, I hope, a patriotic feel to the piece. I was going for a big orchestra, a John Williams-type feel. I was inspired by my feelings about Donald Trump. I’ve been with him since the beginning.”
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It only took a few hours to put the music on paper, and then a day to fully produce the piece.
“The theme of ‘We the People’ is about Mr. Trump bringing visibility to so many issues in our nation — immigration, trade deals, jobs, fighting terror, and health care reform. He’s given the American people — we, the people — a voice,” Gleckman emphasized.
He is quick to thank others, especially his family — including his younger sister, Summer, 13, and his older sister, Ariana, 21, for his success so far.
“I am truly blessed to have parents who support all these endeavors,” he said. “They got me lessons in music and composition, and I’ve taken steps to continuously improve — there is lots of hard work involved, lots of lessons and classes. I am blessed to have music instructors and composers who have helped me. I’m thankful.”
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Part of Gleckman’s young genius is that he sees things not just as a finished product, but as separate yet interlocking steps. “I remember when I was six years old, I saw ‘Schindler’s List’ for the first time, and what I remember is being struck by the complexity of how a film is structured. It’s like an equation,” he said. “Albert Einstein’s equation E=Mc2 is a simple equation, but when you look at the chalkboards full of equations to get that particular one, that’s the part I am impressed with — the layers.”
Gleckman said he doesn't know where he got his work ethic. He is often up until 3 a.m. completing his homework — he is in 10th grade at Carmel High School in Carmel, Indiana — but again defers to others who have provided worthy examples.
"Some of my biggest inspirations throughout life, whether it's Beethoven, or Spielberg, or Dinesh D'Souza — they have each motivated me to continue to work hard and get better at what I do," he said. "They are the best at what they do, and are smart and inspiring. They had to work very hard to get where they did. Plus, it just happens," he noted with a laugh. "I will sit down to practice for one hour, and I will look up and it's five hours later."
When asked how it would feel if "We the People" were to be performed at the inauguration of America's 45th president, Gleckman replied, "It would be beyond amazing."
