ELEGY

ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

In the soon to be released Azica Records world premiere recording of Aaron Jay Kernis’ Elegy . . . for those we lost as a single in digital format, Michael Sachs, Principal Trumpet of The Cleveland Orchestra, and multiple GRAMMY-nominated harp soloist, Yolanda Kondonassis play a powerful tribute to the families of beloved COVID-19 victims, to give, in the words of Aaron Jay Kernis’ “…some measure of solace to families within a grief-filled musical poem.”  

After contracting and recovering from COVID-19 early in the pandemic, the composer felt move to create music to counterpoint the terrible pandemic and honor the dead and give some measure of solace to families by sharing a personal expression of grief.” “Kernis’ Elegy illuminates – Kondonassis adds – the emotional nuances of our collective experience in a manner that only music can do, taking us on an artful sonic journey that travels through the stages of deep sadness, resignation, despair, and rage, leading us towards hope, sublimation, resolve, acceptance, and finally peace.

Rafael de Acha ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

Published by ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

Rafael de Acha has enjoyed a distinguished career in the arts as a performer, stage director, producer, and educator. He was born and grew up in Cuba. At the age of 17 he moved to the United States to study Drama at the University of Minnesota, and later Languages at L.A. City College, Music at the Juilliard School of Music, at the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music, and at the New England Conservatory of Music, from which he received the Master's degree. He has taught courses on the History of Music at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music and at Florida International University, and contributed writings and reviews to Seen and Heard International (www.seenandheard-international.com ) and to this blog. He co-founded the award-winning New Theatre in Coral Gables, Florida, where he produced and staged twenty seasons of classical and contemporary theater, including fifty world premieres of plays that went on to have international and national productions on and off Broadway, including Ana in the Tropics by Nilo Cruz (Pulitzer Prize for Drama 2002 and Tony Nomination 2003.) In 2006 he was presented with a citation from The Dade County Cultural Affairs Council for “trailblazing contributions to the arts in South Florida.”