Elegy for JFK

The Anchorage Civic Orchestra will be giving our 2013 Fall Concert on November 22nd.  Back in late August, when we began our once-per-week rehearsals, a member observed that our concert will occur on the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

The theme of our concert is Four Centuries of American Music, with works written in the 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st centuries being programmed.  After mulling over the idea for four days, I wrote this simple, direct elegy over Labor Day weekend.

The music doesn’t take a point of view in a sense of reflecting my opinions on why or how President Kennedy was killed.  It is merely a civic tribute to the man, and what he gave that day.  The sound track of the Youtube is a MIDI version, created with Finale notation software and Garritan orchestral sound samples.


I will conduct its premiere on Friday, November 22nd, in Anchorage.