Aaron Copland - Lenox, MA
Posted by: neoc1
N 42° 20.993 W 073° 18.836
18T E 638870 N 4690001
A monument honoring American composer and conductor Aaron Copland is located in the formal garden on the grounds of Tanglewood Music Center in Lenox, MA.
Waymark Code: WMVPXJ
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 05/16/2017
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A life size bronze bust of Aaron Copland was sculpted by Penelope Jenks and installed on the grounds of the Tanglewood Music Center in 2009. The sculpture stands on a 5' high, square rough cut granite pedestal. It was commissioned by Tanglewood Artist in Residence, John Williams.
A ground level granite plaque is inscribed:
AARON COPELAND
1900 - 1990
The American Composer Aaron Copland was born on November 14, 1900 in Brooklyn, New York. He began writing songs at the age of eight and a half and went on to study music in France at the Fontainebleau School of Music. He returned to America determined to become a full-time composer.
During his career Copland became known as the "Dean of American Composers". He is best known for his Populist compositions including: Appalachian Spring, Billy the Kid, Rodeo, Fanfare for the Common Man, and his Third Symphony.
Aaron Copland is the first, and so far only, musician to be honored with a statue erected on the grounds of the Tanglewood Music Center. His early works were often played by the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Serge Koussevitzky, Tanglewood's founding music director. Subsequently, Copland became director of the composition faculty at the summer music academy, a position that Copland held that position for 25 years.