UNO Associate Professor of Piano Dr. Kristín Jónína Taylor’s recording of Mike McFerron’s Sonata no. 2 was awarded two silver medals in the Global Music Awards’ Composer and New Release categories. McFerron’s sonata is a dramatic composition written in 2022 telling the story of inexplicable loss from the point of view of parents who lost children in the Sandyhook Elementary school shooting, poignantly expressing life’s inscrutable emotions, particularly, anguish and bereavement.

Global Music Awards (GMA) is a top-tier international music competition that honors talented musicians around the world. It is a showcase for musical gems and unique voices. Global Music Awards is the music industry’s golden seal of approval, a stamp of credibility for gifted musicians.

“Midwest Piano Sonatas,” Taylor’s recording featuring McFerron’s sonata alongside two other lyrical, evocative, and hauntingly beautiful piano sonatas by Midwestern composers, will be released by Navona Records on August 2nd. Album information can be found at https://www.navonarecords.com/catalog/nv6653/.

The recording also extensively features the work of Wyndhem Ennaemba, UNO School of Music’s Music Production Manager, as the Recording Engineer and Mixing/Mastering Engineer for the recording, which was recorded in the Strauss Performing Arts Center Recital Hall on the campus of the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Digital distribution will be through Naxos Records (https://www.naxos.com). Releases will be available for digital purchase through major retailers such as Amazon and iTunes and through major streaming services including Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and Naxos Streaming Library.