I got to meet Aaron Copland in 1987...

He was one of the judges at the Worlds of Fan Symphonic Band competition that my high school band was performing at that year (it was the highlight competition of our year, and the big band trip to go down to Kansas City from Lincoln, Nebraska).

After our performance, he came down to the parking lot, where we were putting our instruments away and changing out of our uniforms, to congratulate us on our performance.  He said we sounded like a professional band not a high school band, and he was thrilled to tell us that we had received perfect marks and been awarded the Grand Champion trophy for the competition.

We were so excited to win - but I was so touched that he took the time to make that personal gesture.  It was a strange bit of irony that he was one of the judges that year, because for our All-City Band contest, we had performed a piece of selections of Aaron Copland's music. 

Sadly, he passed away three years after that event - but its always been one of the highlights of my time as a musician, and a favorite memory of mine.  So I thought I would create a lens to honor the music of the man who played such a key role in one of my best high school memories.

His music carried over into the films and television too - so you may have heard a piece of his music, and never realized it.  For example, his piece "Hoe-Down" was used in the 1998 movie "He Got Game" by Spike Lee.

He is considered to be an "American Master" of music.