One of the first American-born composers to receive such high acclaim on a global scale, Leonard Bernstein was arguably one of the most commended and talented musicians raised and educated in the United States of America.
Leonard Bernstein was born on August 25, 1918 in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He discovered his passion for music at a very young age after listening to a piano performance which inspired him to begin learning the piano. Bernstein attended the Boston Latin School as a child. Shortly after graduating from Boston Latin School in 1935, he attended the prestigious, Harvard University, where he majored in music. Bernstein met many accomplished conductors during his time at Harvard that influenced him greatly. Dimitri Mitropolous and Aaron Copland were two major influences that never formally taught Bernstein, but certainly left their mark on the young composer during his time at Harvard. After his studies were completed at Harvard in 1939, he set out to receive formal training at the …show more content…
The rest of the 1940s saw Bernstein begin his career as a composer, conduct the New York City Center orchestra and perform as a guest conductor all across the world. His most popular and successful composition during the 40s was his score for the musical, West Side Story, which fused classical and popular music and found great success.
Bernstein’s musical career continued to flourish in the 1950s, and he even found time to discover a new passion: teaching. He founded the Creative Arts Festival at Brandeis University, where he was a professor from 1951 to 1956. He gave his first television lecture for the CBS arts program Omnibus in 1954, and he gave many more over the next 4 years that covered topics such as opera, conducting, modern music, musical comedy and more. His fame as a teacher soon caught up to his fame as a conductor/composer through his televised educational programs he did for
Leonard Bernstein was born on August 25, 1918 in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He discovered his passion for music at a very young age after listening to a piano performance which inspired him to begin learning the piano. Bernstein attended the Boston Latin School as a child. Shortly after graduating from Boston Latin School in 1935, he attended the prestigious, Harvard University, where he majored in music. Bernstein met many accomplished conductors during his time at Harvard that influenced him greatly. Dimitri Mitropolous and Aaron Copland were two major influences that never formally taught Bernstein, but certainly left their mark on the young composer during his time at Harvard. After his studies were completed at Harvard in 1939, he set out to receive formal training at the …show more content…
The rest of the 1940s saw Bernstein begin his career as a composer, conduct the New York City Center orchestra and perform as a guest conductor all across the world. His most popular and successful composition during the 40s was his score for the musical, West Side Story, which fused classical and popular music and found great success.
Bernstein’s musical career continued to flourish in the 1950s, and he even found time to discover a new passion: teaching. He founded the Creative Arts Festival at Brandeis University, where he was a professor from 1951 to 1956. He gave his first television lecture for the CBS arts program Omnibus in 1954, and he gave many more over the next 4 years that covered topics such as opera, conducting, modern music, musical comedy and more. His fame as a teacher soon caught up to his fame as a conductor/composer through his televised educational programs he did for