Who is Aaron Copland?
Born in 1900 in Brooklyn, New York, Aaron Copland actually began composing before he formally began taking piano lessons at 13. Rather than go to college, he studied theory, composition, and piano, and immersed himself in performance experiences, attending ballets, operas, and concerts. In 1921, he began attending the American Conservatory in France, studying conducting and composition. He went on to study in Paris with both Ricardo Viñes and Nadia Boulanger, who conducted his Organ Symphony in 1924.
