Lehigh Professor Composes Musical Memorial Inspired By Sandy Hook

Steven Sametz is the Ronald J. Ulrich Professor of Music at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. In 2013, Sametz won the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Music Composition Award and he was commissioned to create the composition “A Child’s Requiem,” a 50-minute vocal piece for both a child and adult choir as well as an orchestra in memorial to those who lost their lives at Sandy Hook. Sametz, who also grew up near Newtown, felt compelled to create a piece of work after the school tragedy that occurred at Sandy Hook in Dec 2012. Based on writings of elementary school children in response to tragedy and loss, the work is to be premiered in the spring of 2015, in conjunction with an exhibition of children’s artwork in CT. “A Child’s Requiem” is a piece which honors those lost at Sandy Hook elementary. This amazing video takes you inside the creation of this piece and the meaning behind “A Child’s Requiem,” which offers a sense of hope and healing.