Occupation: Composer Birth: June 2, 1944 Death: August 6, 2012
If I'm within reach and can be helpful, I have a tendency to say 'Yes.' It's hard to say 'No..
Many, many years ago, I was one of the few conductors who talked to the audience and now a lot of classical conductors have figured it out... otherwi….
As I get older, I'm slowing down and, yes, calming down in my desire to be taken seriously. That I can be entertaining and funny and high nervous ene….
My show business career doesn't mean I can't write a symphony. It just means I was never asked to write one..
The biggest thrill you can have is to tell people one of your songs, and have them be able to hum it..
From the time I could play the piano, I remember trying to write tunes. They were in my head, and I would just sit down and start noodling. Next thin….
I never took any vocal training.
Music can make a difference. There is a global nature to music, which has the potential to bring all people together. Music is truly an international….
I still have great faith in what is good and right in all of us..
I can make a song up about anything: garbage, the weather, things in the news..
I don't think they understand it's as important as math and science. It rounds you out as a person. I think it gives you a love of certain things. Yo….
I think that when NASA works on a moon shot, they know too well that all of the people working on it must do their job at 110 percent. Sometimes they….
Let's say music is needed for only 43 seconds of film. You have to score it so it is an entity, so it won't bother anyone when it ends so quickly. Or….
Barbra Streisand is without a doubt one of the most honest people I have ever known. There is no doubt in my mind that she will not be doing any more….
You know, anyone who invites me to do something makes me feel special..
You mustn't underestimate an audience's intelligence..
I was always drawn to Broadway musicals, and obviously composers like Gershwin, Rodgers, Berlin and Porter were writing music that I found wildly imp….
I'm not one of those people who says, 'I never read reviews,' because I don't believe those people..
I started studying music at the age of five and a half. My older sister was taking piano lessons. When her teacher left our apartment, I would get up….
My whole thing is not just to play music for people, but to make them part of the evening..
There have been studies that clearly state that children who are exposed to arts education at a young age will in fact do markedly better in their SA….