Aaron Jay Kernis
| Aaron Jay Kernis | |
|---|---|
| Born |
January 15, 1960 Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Genres | Contemporary classical music |
| Occupation(s) | Composer |
| Instruments | Piano, violin |
Aaron Jay Kernis (born January 15, 1960) is an American composer serving as a member of the Yale School of Music faculty. Kernis spent 10 years serving as the music advisor to the Minnesota Orchestra and as Director of the Minnesota Orchestra's Composers' Institute. He received numerous awards and honors throughout his thirty-year career. He lives in New York City with his wife, pianist Evelyne Lust, and their two children.
Aaron Jay Kernis was born in Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. He began his musical career by playing the violin and piano. His composition career began at age 13, and he was awarded three BMI Foundation Student Composers Awards throughout his time as a student. He studied composition with John Adams at the San Francisco Conservatory; Charles Wuorinen at the Manhattan School of Music; and Morton Subotnick, Bernard Rands, and Jacob Druckman at Yale University. His wide range of teachers and time spent on both the east and west coasts helps to define his eclectic musical style that blends minimalism with post-Romanticism.
Aaron Kernis found immediate success as a composer when his work Dream of the Morning Sky was premiered in 1983 by the New York Philharmonic with Zubin Mehta conducting. He was only 23 at the time but won unanimous praise for an incident that took place. Zubin Mehta stopped the orchestra to complain about the vagueness of the score, but Aaron Jay Kernis replied, "Just read what's there." The audience applauded young Kernis for sticking up for his work, and within weeks the story received national attention.
Kernis has written over 25 works for orchestra including concertos for cello, english horn, violin, and toy piano. His key orchestral works include Musica Celestis, New Era Dance, Lament and Prayer, Newly Drawn Sky, and Colored Field.
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