abstract: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 is now Director of the Minnesota Orchestra’s Composers’ Institute.
Other finalists included previous winner AaronJayKernis for classical composition "Pieces of Winter Sky" and jazz musician Wadada Leo Smith for "Ten Freedom Summers, " a 10-part examination of the civil rights movement.