Arts & Entertainment
Bucks Co. Native Wins 2 Grammy Awards
Kernis was born in Philly and grew up in Bucks, where his musical studies began on violin and he began teaching himself piano at age 12.
BENSALEM, PA — It may not have been as high profile as victories by Childish Gambino or Lady Gaga. But a Bucks County native was celebrating multiple Grammy Award wins on Sunday.
Aaron Jay Kernis, a graduate of Bensalem High School, took home Grammys in the category of Best Classical Instrumental Solo and Best Contemporary Classical Composition.
The wins were for the composer's "Kernis Violin Concerto," performed by James Ehnes, Ludovic Morlot and the Seattle Symphony.
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"It's thrilling to receive the (Grammy) Award in 2 categories!" Kernis wrote on Facebook. "James Ehnes is a truly spectacular musician and collaborator, and I'm amazed by the inspiring Ludovic Morlot and the musicians of the Seattle Symphony, who, in a few days played the Concerto as if they'd lived with it their entire lives.
"My kids, Delphine and Jonah, and my wonderful agent Elizabeth Dworkin all share this joy with me!"
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Kernis was born in Philadelphia and grew up in Bensalem, where his musical studies began on the violin. He began teaching himself piano at age 12 and, the following year, began composing original material.
He continued his studies at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Manhattan and Yale schools of music. He first came to national attention in 1982 with the premier of his first orchestral work, "Dream of the Morning Sky," performed by the New York Philharmonic at its Horizons Festival.
He is one of the youngest composers to ever win the Pulitzer Prize, which he was awarded in 1988 for his "String Quartet No. 2 (musica instrumentalis)." Kernis has been the recipient of many other awards and accolades and, since 2003, he has taught composition at the Yale School of Music.
As one of the generation's most prominent composers, Kernis's work has been featured on orchestral, chamber, and recital programs worldwide and he has been commissioned by some of the world's leading vocal and classical instrument performers, orchestras and symphonies.
Photo by Harold Shapiro, courtesy Yale School of Music
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