World-premiere music, inspired by Parkland shooting, lets youth speak

Orlando Sentinel
November 1, 2024

After 17 people were killed at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland in 2018 — the deadliest mass shooting ever at a U.S. high school — producer Portia Kamons and composer Ron Ramin felt called to action.

“We set out to create something to soothe America’s collective grief,” Kamons said, “but as we met the young people leading the charge for meaningful change, we chose to make this project about them.”

The result was “Seventeen,” a 25-minute musical work in four parts that will have its world premiere in Orlando on Nov. 8 when the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra presents the piece in Steinmetz Hall at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. It’s free, but registration is required.

The other members of the team behind “Seventeen” are Jamie Bernstein, an author and activist herself, and Jacobsen.

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Alta Tseng