• Ron Ramin was born and raised in New York City. He earned his undergraduate degree at Princeton University, where he majored in music and studied privately with Milton Babbitt. Upon graduation, he moved to Los Angeles where he composed music for 20 Primetime television series and 30 movies/telefilms. Ron is the recipient of a CableACE Award, a Primetime EMMY nomination, and TV/Film Awards from BMI and ASCAP. He has composed Golden State of Mind, a 16-minute symphonic suite depicting the beauty & drama of the California landscape and its cultural diversity. Greetings! was given its world premiere performance in 2016 by the Marin Symphony, conducted by Music Director Alasdair Neale. A former Board member of the Society of Composers and Lyricists, Ron currently resides in Northern California and New York City.

  • Portia Kamons is a writer and producer of theater, music, live events, and feature film. In New York City with En Garde Arts, she produced FATHER WAS A PECULIAR MAN, ANOTHER PERSON IS A FOREIGN COUNTRY, and BASETRACK LIVE, a verbatim multimedia work named in the top ten productions of 2014 by The New York Times. She was Executive Producer of the WW1 National Centennial Commemoration, narrated by Kevin Costner, including "Visions of Peace" a documentary with President Jimmy Carter. She wrote the libretto for BIEDERMAN’S MATCH with music by Michelle DiBucci, script by Beau Willimon (“House of Cards”) at UC Santa Barbara’s Launch Pad. A founding member of Primary Stages Theater, she later worked as a producer for the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the London International Festival of Theater, and was the lead producer of the award-winning indie feature film DORIAN BLUES. She is a consultant to Danish web-based documentary/social activism platform, OTHER STORY. Portia graduated from Carnegie-Mellon University. 

  • Jamie Bernstein is an author, narrator, director, broadcaster, and filmmaker. Her 2018 memoir, Famous Father Girl, is about growing up with composer-conductor Leonard Bernstein, and pianist and actress Felicia Montealegre in an atmosphere bursting with music, theatre and literature. Jamie has written and narrated concerts about Mozart, Aaron Copland, and Stravinsky, as well as “The Bernstein Beat,” a family concert about her father modeled after his groundbreaking Young People’s Concerts. She appears worldwide performing her own scripted narrations as well as standard concert narrations, such as Copland’s “A Lincoln Portrait” and her father’s Symphony No. 3, “Kaddish.” Jamie has produced and hosted the New York Philharmonic’s live national radio broadcasts, as well as many summer broadcasts from Tanglewood. She recently narrated the podcast “The NY Phil Story: Made in New York.” Jamie is the co-director of Crescendo: the Power of Music, an award-winning documentary film focusing on children in struggling urban communities, who participate in youth orchestra programs for social transformation. Jamie’s articles and poetry have appeared in such publications as Symphony, Town & Country, and Opera News. She also edits “Prelude, Fugue & Riffs,” a newsletter pertaining to her father’s legacy.

Meet the team

  • “After the Parkland shooting, I was determined to show support for the survivors of this tragic event, and for the cause of gun violence prevention. I turned to my craft — composing music — to make a statement. Working with Portia, SEVENTEEN evolved to include an array of topics dominating the headlines and affecting the lives of young people. We want to bring orchestral music audiences together with young people and provide a place for performance, thoughtful discussion, and reconciliation within the intimate environment of the concert hall.”

    — Ron Ramin

  • “Ron and I set out to create a new work that would help soothe America’s collective grief. But our course was changed by the young people we met, who are emerging into adulthood at an uneasy time. They are laser-focused on gun safety, and fizzing with energy aimed at finding solutions for the monumental challenges facing their generation. All with unique Gen-Z flair, humor and digital native vibe. I created the libretto from verbatim text to ensure their voices are at the center of this music-driven story.”

    — Portia Kamons

Supported by

SEVENTEEN has been made possible through generous support from:

Brent and Patricia Ford
Mark and Julie Adams
Minal Amin
Jan Balthasar Trust
Peter Bernstein
David S. Brown
Kathleen Updyke Brown
Lolly Curry
Gregg Crandell and Jeannie Denholm
Bruce and Cindy Freyman
Mark and Kim Greenhall
Anne Hamburger
Honig Vineyards & Winery

Linda Horioka
Gerald Johnson
Sharon and Ramin Kalili
Heather and Jon Kline
Donna and Fred Mendes
Cory Muehlhauser
Sandy & Eric Pearson
Rebecca Raff
Christina A. Rolettter
Michael Skloff
Tami and Brett Smith
Sepideh Tabai
Evelyn Tribole
Bruce and Robyn Zieper

Photo by Julia Walker

Please join us and support SEVENTEEN with a tax-deductible donation

The Advisory Council

The Advisory Council for SEVENTEEN includes leaders in varied aspects of activism or social impact across the arts. Their expertise nurtures, guides and informs the ongoing development of the work.

  • Bettina Lanyi, National Partnerships Director

  • Rob Conroy,  Director of Organizing (retired);  journalist and activist.

  • Bloomberg Professor of American Health, John Hopkins Center for Gun Policy & Research.

  • Journalist and Author of COLUMBINE and PARKLAND, BIRTH OF A MOVEMENT.

  • Item description

  • Author (FAMOUS FATHER GIRL) narrator, and filmmaker.

  • Sustainability Commissioner (Denver) Gun Violence Prevention Commissioner (Houston), Founder, Orange Generation, Co-Director, March for Our Lives/Houston, 2020 Candidate for Houston City Council. Interviewed for this project at 17.

  • Executive Producer Emeritus of the Brooklyn Academy of Music; International Artistic Advisor, Columbia Artists.

  • JD, PhD, Professor of Law, Stanford University; known for using empirical analysis to determine impact of law and public policy.

  • Musical Director, conductor and educator. Music Director for Essential Voices USA; faculty member at Manhattan School of Music. Formerly Director of Choral Activities at The Juilliard School. 

  • Executive advisor/ creative director for Women’s March.  Helped launch Moms Demand Action. Gun violence survivor.

  • Activist and Organizer in the movement for Black Lives Matter Chicago. Adult advisor for Chicago’s youth-led local advocacy organization GoodKidsMadCity.

  • Musician, humanitarian, Cultural Envoy for the US Department of State

  • Founder, March for Our Lives, Oseola County, FL; student at New York University. Interviewed for this project at 18.