GRADUS AD PARADISUM
J. A. J. Sedarski
Published by SedarskiMusic (ASCAP)
Duration ca. 10:00 min
Copyright © 2025 J. A. J. Sedarski/ SedarskiMusic/ ASCAP All Rights Reserved.
Program Note
Gradus ad Paradisum unfolds as a meditation on time and tone, where long, patient phrases guide the listener through a landscape of shifting consonance and dissonance. The piece unfolds gradually, with each note and gesture given space to breathe, allowing moments of tension to slowly resolve into calm. It was the first work I composed while studying at Boston University, and marked a turning point in my thinking—embracing modular form and layered structures. Born from a difficult chapter in my life, this piece is a gesture of remembrance and resilience, dedicated to all who have lost loved ones to suicide.
“Showing a deeper understanding of harmony” (Boston Musical Intelligencer) J. A. J. Sedarski (b. 2000) is a composer whose music blends bold, dramatic gestures with moments of striking intimacy. Drawing inspiration from his Mexican heritage, real-life events, and the natural world, his work resonates with personal depth and expressive range.
Sedarski began composing at 14, sparked by a dusty family piano tucked in the corner of his home. By 15, he earned his first credit writing incidental music for a production of The Vagina Monologues at the Rochester Civic Center. At 19, he received his first commission from the Boston-based Juventas New Music Ensemble—an artistic relationship that continues to this day and includes three concert hall world premieres.
His music has been performed by the MIVOS Quartet, Argento Reading Ensemble, Boston University Symphony Orchestra, Boston University Chamber Orchestra, ALLEA III, Sound Icon, and Juventas New Music Ensemble. He has studied under composers Rodney Lister, Joshua Fineberg, and John Wallace.
In his first year at Boston University, he won the 2020 Composition Competition for Variants for Orchestra. In 2022, he received an achievement award from Luke Hill’s composition studio for Gradus ad Paradisum, was named a 2021 finalist for the American Prize for Behind the Universe, and a 2024 finalist for the American Prize for Between Our Breaths We Sing. In 2023, he debuted his first monodrama, Sentience, inspired by contemporary developments in A.I., at Boston University’s School of Music. He earned his Bachelor of Music in Theory and Composition from Boston University College of Fine Arts.