New Jersey’s New State Anthem? Composer Vies for Official Ode

This Monday, Pine Brook composer Vitaliy Yuriëvich Shtapura debuted a rousing anthem - a new "Ode to New Jersey"! It's one of the many statewide responses to the 250th anniversary of its founding; this one came out on September 28, 2026.

Composed for the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Shtapura's quick symphonic piece is meant to "encapsulate the heartbeat of the land". In just 2 minutes, the listener experiences a fast-paced whirlpool of 18th century harpsichord pop, ragtime, Lenape eagle chants, and New Age transcendental orchestration.

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Shtapura is a prolific Pine Brook resident, having published more than 200 songs, 80 cartoons, 30 fiction stories, 150 illustrations, 5 live-action music videos, and 4,000 Wikipedia edits. An award-winning voice actor, he previously worked at the Morris County Park Commission's Historic Sites, where he gave tours of such properties as Morristown's Fosterfields Living Historical Farm. This summer, he released 98 of his juvenalia songs written between 2010 and 2020, published a slew of comedic music videos, performed music in New Orleans, improvised on piano at the American Dream Mall, and directed & scored a 72-hour short film for an Asbury Park film competition.

Now he has set his eyes on creating New Jersey's first true orchestrated anthem.

"You haven't heard anything like this in over 100 years," promises Shtapura.

Unlike any other "Ode," it is not a singer-songwriter pop song. Shtapura insists that his instrumental anthem can last more than a hundred years, summarizing New Jersey's entire history and future.

To deter accusations of generative AI involvement during a time of rising "brainrot" music, Shtapura has posted the meticulously manual score on his YouTube account. The piano-roll-style video takes apart each instrument in the MIDI file. The viewer can see each note of the strings, bells, harpsichords, flutes, ragtime drums, and pianos all handwritten on separate tracks. For a composer who has written in the genres of hip-hop, cartoon theme songs, Dora the Explorer music, 1920s jazz, and Nokia ringtones, an anthem is nothing but another style to experiment with.

A historical composition

Shtapura's deep knowledge as a historian is obvious as he describes each section of the music. "Each section refers to particular phases of New Jersey's history," explains Shtapura, describing each:

"First you hear a hilarious harpsichord introduction which is common fare for the pop music of 1776, when New Jersey was founded. Soon after, the rousing ragtime drums evoke the very height of New Jersey's Paterson Silk City industry (1890s) and the Labor Movement. Local industry was Alexander Hamilton's intention when setting up both New Jersey and the entire nation which followed its example. The ragtime also honors recalls the circuses and merry-go-rounds of Asbury Park, Seaside Heights, and Cape May."

These compositional choices also have metaphorical meaning. "The strings recall the flow of the waves of the Jersey Shore. The glissando of the piano represents the Morris Canal, transporting the melody up and down hills, from one place to another. The piano in general represents New Jersey's early reliance of water mills for economic power."

The grand ending, beginning at 1:15, represents an intentional futurism. Shtapura explains, "The ending is based on the compositons and Pow Wow Music of the Lenni Lenape Native Americans which incorporate 4/4 drum and heartful chanting; these powerful events can be experienced in Cowtown, New Jersey. The tambourine is meant to evoke the sound of festival regalia which comprises religiously important beads and shells from our area. I have sang all the parts myself, channeling the very depth of my connection to the heartbeat of this land."

It is certainly a song of pride for Shtapura, who chose to relocate to the state and cited the state itself as his muse last month. The music includes cheeky references to this. "The fact that the bell plays the melody first, and the flute demonstrates playfulness in response, shows that other states and territories are only trying to be similar to New Jersey, but we have always been ahead in industry and creativity - hence New Jersey leading the way in jazz, jive, and R&B, paving the way for one of the world's greatest bands, Kool & The Gang."

The song has a spritual meaning as well, which honors the Advaita Vedanta, who have a community within New Jersey. "This is supposed to take the listener from Appearance (sirguna) to the Edges of Nirguna Brahman and hear Heaven Itself echoing through the Sacred Soil of New Jersey, formed as just one facet of this grand expanding universe," says Shtapura.

It has not been officially adopted, but Shtapura encourages feedback from fellow citizens as well as the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, as well as government officials. "I do hope you will let me know what you think!" says Shtapura who has welcomed feedback since he began posting his art to the internet in 2007. To any government officials reading, Vitaliy Shtapura says, "I hope it will inspire you to take good care of our beautiful state."

Listeners can find the Ode on YouTube, iTunes, Spotify, and all other platforms.

What do you think? Does Shtapura's anthem capture the soul of New Jersey? Can you imagine it played on a baseball field? Or is there more to the Garden State that has yet to be encapsulated in music?