MEYER KUPFERMAN

Meyer Kupferman was born in New York City. At the age of ten he began to play the clarinet in the band. Music soon became a part of his life and he became good at it. The idea of writing music became more and more fascinating to him and eventually he began writing small piano pieces. As he grew older he began to perform as a jazz musician in clubs and bars around Coney Island. He lived during the “Big Band Era” and this music had a great effect on him. Although he was entirely self-taught in music composition he received his education in theory, chamber ensemble and orchestral music at the High School of Music and Art. He also studied at Queens College. As a young composer still in his twenties he became Professor of Composition and Chamber Music at Sarah Lawrence College in 1951. He continued as a member of the faculty until his retirement 43 years later in 1994.