"'Music for Lamentation' is far from daring to be original in musical shape, form, style or sound, but is closest to genuinely bringing to bare my reflection on September 11, 2001. While this piece pays homage to Mahler's 'Symphony #5: Adagietto' movement and Barber's 'Adagio for Strings', it is dedicated to those who perished on that inauspicious day. The completion of this work is indebted to my daughter, Isabela, and Stringendo (Orchestra School of Hudson Valley) for the immeasurable encouragement, which is infinitely greater than what these modest words of gratefulness can ever convey. 'Music for Lamentation' is not merely an elegy that laments those (we've) lost; it is a vessel that I call 'Hope', which has no expiration. 'It' holds a lot of promise and healing power. It is a story about 'recovery' from devastation, 'optimism' to look ahead, 'enduring willingness' to stride forward, and 'overcoming fear' in order to persevere. In the wake of the breaking news, global catastrophes, and the 23-year anniversary of 9/11, I ask each of 'you' to help raise awareness, recover what might be broken or an abandoned trust in the fundamental truth of humanity, and instill in the collective conscience of our communities that far greater things are born - than lost - from our human suffering."