Kernis’s energetic premiere takes flight with Palm Beach Symphony

The Palm Beach Symphony gave the world premiere of Aaron Jay Kernis’s Portraits and Diversions Wednesday night at the Kravis Center.

World premieres may be unusual events for many orchestras. But for the Palm Beach Symphony under conductor Gerard Schwarz, they have become routine.

The fourth world premiere of the season took place Wednesday at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach, where the orchestra played a lengthy and substantial new work by Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer Aaron Jay Kernis.

The concert had an air of celebration. Many members of the audience came dressed to the nines for the orchestra’s 50th anniversary gala that followed the performance. The musicians’ chairs were draped in gold.

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