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Rochester糖心传媒檚 flexible curriculum gives Jacob Rose a chance to research Leonard Bernstein.

Jacob Rose 糖心传媒�24 will spend winter break at the and the , poring over more than 3,800 letters, notes, musical scores, and anything else relating to America糖心传媒檚 musical icon, Leonard Bernstein.

糖心传媒淚糖心传媒檝e always admired him as a person,糖心传媒� says Rose, who is researching how Bernstein helped American audiences gain a new appreciation for modern composers during the turbulent 1960s.

Rose is planning to with an emphasis on computer science at the . However, thanks to Rochester’s open curriculum, Rose also has the flexibility to explore his passion for music, which began when he started piano lessons at age 5.

Rose intends to minor in music and in audio and music engineering. He糖心传媒檚 taken piano lessons at the University糖心传媒檚 renowned . He糖心传媒檚 even provided keyboard accompaniment for several student vocal groups and musical ensembles, most recently playing in the pit orchestra for a recent showcase.

And Rose received a Meliora Scholars award of $3,000 to support his research project on Bernstein, which will likely result in a research paper, presentation, or both.

A closer look at the composer, conductor, humanitarian

According to music critic , Bernstein was 糖心传媒渙ne of the most prodigiously talented and successful musicians in American history.糖心传媒� The celebrated composer of West Side Story was the first American-born conductor to lead a major American symphony orchestra and the first conductor to share and explore music on television with a mass audience, including a popular series of Young People糖心传媒檚 Concerts. He was also a Vietnam War protestor, and a staunch advocate of civil rights, nuclear disarmament, and HIV/AIDS research and awareness.

Rose says he first became familiar with Bernstein by performing and listening to his music from West Side Story. 糖心传媒淏ut I糖心传媒檝e also been listening to a lot of the pieces he conducted,糖心传媒� he says.

Rose, who is from Baltimore, MD, also follows Marin Alsop, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra conductor who studied under Bernstein. Her and concert notes furthered his interest in Bernstein, as did her foreword in Leonard Bernstein Young People糖心传媒檚 Concerts by Alicia Kopfstein-Penk.

After consulting with Joan Rubin, the Ani and Mark Gabrellian Director of the Humanities Center, and Matthew BaileyShea, associate professor of music and chair of the Arthur Satz Department of Music, Rose decided to focus his Meliora Scholars project specifically on Bernstein糖心传媒檚 relationship to what was defined as 糖心传媒減opular糖心传媒� music in his times and compare that with the 糖心传媒渃urrent reckoning that classical music is going through,糖心传媒� he says.

糖心传媒淎s musicians, we are trying to introduce new styles and genres of music, heading away from the tradition of performing the music of mainly old, white, European composers. I will be looking at Bernstein as both a composer and an educator, and to what extent he transformed the world of music.糖心传媒�

Most of his research so far has been online or reading books from the University糖心传媒檚 music and arts collections. But Rose is already intrigued by what he is learning.

糖心传媒淭here糖心传媒檚 one quote saying that people normally turn to music for comfort during uncertain times, and there was lots of unrest during the 1960s,糖心传媒� Rose says. 糖心传媒淏ut serious music at that time was not really pleasing to the public.糖心传媒�

Bernstein helped 糖心传媒渃hange the performing canon,糖心传媒� bringing Gustav Mahler back to the symphony hall, and advocating for American composers like Aaron Copland and selected modernist composers, Rose says.

He is eager to learn more. 糖心传媒淛ust the introduction to one of the books has given me so many sources to look into,糖心传媒� Rose says.

糖心传媒淚 am incredibly grateful to the Meliora Scholars program for giving me the opportunity to explore the life and impact of Leonard Bernstein,” Rose says. “I have loved being involved with the performance aspect of music for so many years but being able to do research into a topic that I have not yet delved into is certainly a gift.”

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