Carol J. Oja to Present 'LEONARD BERNSTEIN EMERGES' Talk as Part of NY Phil's Insights Series, 4/7

The 2013-14 season of the New York Philharmonic's Insights Series will continue Monday, April 7, 2014, at 7:30 p.m. with "Leonard Bernstein Emerges: Defying Boundaries and Challenging Racial Politics During World War II," when Leonard Bernstein Scholar-in- Residence Carol J. Oja speaks about the Philharmonic Laureate Conductor's emergence as a conductor, composer, and activist for racial justice during his 20s.

Drawing on new archival research, conducted in part at the New York Philharmonic Archives, Dr. Oja will focus on Bernstein's debut as a conductor, the ballet Fancy Free, and the Broadway musical On the Town. Bernstein's lifelong commitment to racial justice took off during this period as he became an activist for the desegregation of performance.

All events in this free series take place at the David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center (Columbus Avenue at 62nd Street) at 7:30 p.m. and are co-presented with Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

Insights Series will continue with "The Pinnacle of Cycles: Pianist Yefim Bronfman on Beethoven's Piano Concertos," May 20, 2014, moderated by Carol J. Oja (in anticipation of The Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence Yefim Bronfman's performances during The Beethoven Piano Concertos: A Philharmonic Festival, June 11-28, 2014). In addition, Insights Series will present discussions relating to the NY PHIL BIENNIAL, the details of which will be announced at a later date. For more information, visit nyphil.org/insights.

As The Leonard Bernstein Scholar-in-Residence at the New York Philharmonic for the 2013-14 season, Carol J. Oja presents Insights Series events and conducts research in the Philharmonic Archives. Dr. Oja is William Powell Mason Professor of Music at Harvard University, where she is also on the faculty of the graduate program in American Studies. Her newest book, Bernstein Meets Broadway: Collaborative Art in a Time of War, is in production with Oxford University Press. Dr. Oja's Making Music Modern: New York in the 1920s won the Lowens Book Award from the Society for American Music and an ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award. Her other books include Aaron Copland and His World (co-edited with Judith Tick); Colin McPhee: Composer in Two Worlds; A Celebration of American Music: Words and Music in Honor of H. Wiley Hitchcock; American Music Recordings: A Discography of 20th-Century U.S. Composers. Carol J. Oja has held fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Newhouse Center for the Humanities at Wellesley College, the National Humanities Center, NEH, and the Mellon Faculty Fellows Program at Harvard. She is past-president of the Society for American Music.

The Leonard Bernstein Scholar-in-Residence at the New York Philharmonic program honors and recognizes the enduring contribution of Leonard Bernstein, the Orchestra's Music Director from 1958 to 1969 and subsequent Laureate Conductor. The position was created in the 2005-06 season to coincide with the 15th anniversary of Bernstein's death, on October 14, 1990. Charles Zachary Bornstein served as the first Leonard Bernstein Scholar-in-Residence, from 2005 to 2008. New York Philharmonic Program Annotator James M. Keller served in this post in the 2008-09 season; baritone Thomas Hampson combined the role with that of The Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence in the 2009-10 season; Jack Gottlieb held the post in 2010-11 until his untimely passing in February 2011; and Harvey Sachs held the post in the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons.

Insights Series events are free and open to the public. Seating is available on a first-come, first- served basis. Subscribers, Friends at the Affiliate level and above, and Patrons may secure guaranteed admission by emailing AdultEd@nyphil.org. Space is limited.

Pictured: Speaker Carol J. Oja, Leonard Bernstein Scholar-in-Residence. Photo by Lesley Bannatyne.