Ryan Townsend Strand, Karina Kontorovitch - Dear Mrs. Kennedy (2024) [Official Digital Download 24/192]

There is power in the written word. The words we say often go unremembered, spilling out into our world and never reaching another’s ear. When words are important enough to write, they gain the power of history. When words are important enough to sing, they gain the power of humanity.

On November 22, 1963, U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, while sitting next to his wife, Jacqueline Kennedy. For years to come after this infamous day, letters were written to Jackie, expressing condolences and confusion, the spectrum of grief memorialized in the written word. This project has sought to give voice to those letters, providing community for listeners sharing in that collective grief. It is a touchstone for turning inward and experiencing grief through the lens of a national tragedy.

The music of Dear Mrs. Kennedy provides a communal journey to safely explore grief and spark conversation on the importance of human connection. Rather than President Kennedy or First Lady Jackie explicitly, the central character in this music is Grief itself: the grief of a nation—and of a world.

TRACKLIST

1. Ryan Townsend Strand & Karina Kontorovitch - Thomas: Oh Jacqueline: Processional
2. Ryan Townsend Strand & Karina Kontorovitch - Cipullo: A Litany of Sympathy
3. Ryan Townsend Strand & Karina Kontorovitch - Shyu: My Name Is Minerva Chapa
4. Ryan Townsend Strand & Karina Kontorovitch - Cline: May I, May You
5. Ryan Townsend Strand & Karina Kontorovitch - Alexander: Dear Mrs. Kennedy
6. Ryan Townsend Strand & Karina Kontorovitch - Liverman: A Tribute to Mr. J.F.K.
7. Ryan Townsend Strand & Karina Kontorovitch - Butenshon: Letter to the Cornell Daily Sun, 12-2-1963
8. Ryan Townsend Strand & Karina Kontorovitch - Recio: Might Be Equal
9. Ryan Townsend Strand & Karina Kontorovitch - Takach: Thanksgiving Day, 1963
10. Ryan Townsend Strand & Karina Kontorovitch - Larsen: Keys & Pennies
11. Ryan Townsend Strand & Karina Kontorovitch - Pearson: Trondheim, Norway
12. Ryan Townsend Strand & Karina Kontorovitch - Thomas: Oh Jacqueline: Recessional



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