intergenerational music-making. I actively encourage this in my teaching, because I am myself a product of it. Growing up, I spent countless hours making music with my dad, a talented amateur guitarist. He, too, was raised in a musical household. My grandfather was a professional trumpet player who performed with symphony orchestras and Broadway pit bands, while my grandmother was a schoolteacher and piano instructor. For my grandparents, making music together was a lifelong joy. 


It was through their example that I first saw a path toward becoming a professional musician. I loved swapping stories about performances with them. My grandfather had the privilege of working with some of the most prominent musicians of his time—Stravinsky, Bruno Walter, and Glenn Gould, to name a few. One story that stayed with me was about a performance of Mahler’s Second Symphony with the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Bruno Walter. Performing with the New York Philharmonic was one of my grandfather’s most cherished memories, and The Second Symphony is one of his favorite pieces of music. My grandfather eventually gave me his recording from that evening with the New York Philharmonic. 

Therefore, when I composed a duet for trumpet and piano as a gift for my grandmother’s 90th birthday, I drew inspiration directly from that Mahler symphony, especially the trumpet part in the finale. In contrast to the symphony’s grandeur scale, I reimagined the material for an intimate duet, shared between two players in a much more delicate setting.

The piece was later performed at my grandmother’s funeral, with my cousin, a professional guitarist, playing the trumpet part on guitar. When my grandfather passed away in 2025, I decided to bring the composition back to the ensemble that first inspired it, the orchestra. I orchestrated the work and retitled it Elegy, as both a tribute to my grandparents’ memory and a thank-you for the musical legacy they passed on through our family. 

I hope the performance of this piece honors them, and also serves as a reminder of the many ways music can enrich or lives. Whether it’s through building community among families, friend and strangers; developing a skill we love; or offering us moments of insight and beauty—music has the extraordinary ability to create bonds and memories that stay with us for a lifetime.

The piece was selected by the New England Philharmonic for their 2026 New Music Readings program.

Details

Program Note

I am continually amazed by the power of music as a tool for connection. As both a professor and a music teacher working with students of all ages, I witness this connection in many forms—but one of the most special is family and 

​Elegy

for symphony orchestra

Ensemble: Arrangements for trumpet and piano are also available upon request. 

Duration: 4'24" 

Completed: 2025​

Written for: Peter and Esther Crino

Reading by: The New England Philharmonic