Leonard Bernstein was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, on August 25, 1918. As a boy he took piano lessons while attending the Garrison and Boston Latin School. After graduating from high school he attended Harvard University, where he studied with several famous pianists. Composers he studied with include but are not limited to: Walter Piston, Edward Burlingame-Hill, and A. Tillman Merritt. Before graduating in 1939, he made his unofficial conducting debut with the incidental music to “The Bird,” and conducted and performed Marc Blitzstein's “The Cradle Will Rock.” After graduating from Harvard he attended the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. At the Curtis Institute of Music he studied piano with Isabella Vengerova, orchestration with Randall Thompson, and conducting with Fritz Reiner. After leaving the Curtis Institute of Music, he studied at the Boston Symphony Orchestra's new summer institute, Tanglewood, in 1940. At Tanglewood he studied with Serge Koussevizky, the orchestra's director. In the following years, Bernstein became Koussevisky's assistant director. In 1943 Bernstein was named assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic. This position was Bernstein's first permanent conducting job. After replacing Bruno Walter at the Carnegie Hall concert on November 14, 1943, which was broadcast on national radio, he became sought after by orchestras around the world. This was the real beginning of Bernstein's career. Bernstein was named music director of the New York City Symphony Orchestra in 1945, a position he held until 1947. When the conductor he studied under at Tanglewood died in 1951, Bernstein took over as conductor. and conducting departments in… middle of the paper… old coin. In 1985 he was applauded by the National Fellowship Award for his long-standing support of humanitarian causes. He received a Tony Award for Distinguished Achievement in Theater, the MacDowell Colony Gold Medal, Beethoven Society and Mahler Gesellschaft medals, the Handel Medallion, and many other awards. Leonard Bernstein is well known for his many achievements in piano, conducting and musical abilities throughout the world. He has traveled the world conducting, but spent most of his time in the United States. He was an all-around teacher, musician and conductor. Works Cited Bernstein, Leonard. The joy of music. Pompton Plains, NJ: Amadeus, 2004. Print.Briggs, John. Leonard Bernstein; man, his work and his world. Cleveland: World Publishing.; People's Library, 1961. Print."Leonard Bernstein." Leonard Bernstein. Np, nd Web. 08 December. 2013.