David Amram; Iconic Composer, Conductor & Multi-instrumentalist

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David Amram started his professional life in music as a French Hornist in the National Symphony Orchestra in 1951. After serving in the US Army from 1952-54, he moved to New York City in 1955 and played French horn in the legendary jazz bands of Charles Mingus, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton and Oscar Pettiford He created and performed in the first ever Jazz/Poetry readings in New York City with novelist Jack Kerouac, a close friend with whom Amram collaborated artistically for over 12 years.Since the early 1950s, he has traveled the world extensively, working as a musician and a conductor in over thirty-five countries including Cuba, Kenya, Egypt, Pakistan, Israel, Latvia and China. He also regularly crisscrosses the United States and Canada.He composed the scores for many films including Pull My Daisy (1959), Splendor In The Grass (1960) and The Manchurian Candidate (1962). He composed the scores for Joseph Papp's Shakespeare In The Park from 1956-1967 and premiered his comic opera 12th Night with Papp's libretto in 1968. He also wrote a second opera, The Final Ingredient, An Opera of the Holocaust, for ABC Television in 1965.Appointed by Leonard Bernstein as the first Composer In Residence for the New York Philharmonic in 1966, he is now one of the most performed and influential composers of our time.Amram is the author of three memoirs, Upbeat: Nine Lives of a Musical Cat , Offbeat: Collaborating With Kerouac and the highly acclaimed Vibrations. His fourth book David Amram: The Next 80 Years will be published in November of 2020, celebrating his 90th birthday.In the 2020-21 season, his 90th birthday will be celebrated with concerts and premieres of his works in NYC , Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and cities across the country and overseas.In addition to writing new music, he continues to perform around the world as a guest conductor, soloist, multi-instrumentalist, band leader at jazz, folk and classical festivals.