• The Man Behind The Music

    Aaron Copland

    "To stop the flow of music would be like the stopping of time itself, incredible and inconceivable."
    – Aaron Copland
    More about The Man Behind The Music
  • Midday Thoughts

    A series of musings about, around, and related to Copland and his music by musicologist Jennifer DeLapp-Birkett
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Featured Events

Nov 14th, 2025 7:30 pm

Copland 125 Anniversary Concert

Allan Schiller, piano; Liz Britton, soprano; Jonathan Price, organ; Kevin Lindegaard, narrator / Bristol University Singers / Elinor Cooper
Church of All Saints, Pembroke Rd, Clifton, Bristol, United Kingdom, BS8 3ED
Description

Program

  • COPLAND/arr. BRISON Fanfare for the Common Man
  • BERNSTEIN 7 Anniversaries for Aaron Copland
  • COPLAND Petit Portrait
  • COPLAND The Cat and the Mouse
  • COPLAND Three Moods
  • COPLAND An Immorality
  • COPLAND Lark
  • COPLAND In the Beginning
  • COPLAND/arr. WEINRICH Preamble for a Solemn Occasion
  • COPLAND Four Piano Blues
  • COPLAND Down a Country Lane
  • COPLAND Midsummer Nocturne
  • COPLAND Las Agachadas
  • COPLAND/arr. WILDING-WHITE At the River
  • COPLAND The Promise of Living
  • COPLAND Choral finale from Canticle of Freedom
  • COPLAND Midday Thoughts
  • COPLAND Proclamation
  • COPLAND/arr. BRISON Fanfare for the Common Man
Jan 29th & 31st, 2026 8:00 pm

America @ 250: Copland + Barber

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra / Leonard Slatkin
Atlanta Symphony Hall, 1280 Peachtree St NE, Atlanta, GA, United States, 30309
Description

Program

  • SLATKIN Schubertiade: An Orchestral Fantasy
  • BARBER Violin Concerto
  • COPLAND Symphony No. 3
Mar 5th, 2026 7:30 pm

Santtu conducts Bernstein, Copland and Gershwin

Mark van de Wiel, clarinet / Philharmonia Orchestra / Santtu-Matias Rouvali
Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Rd, London, United Kingdom, SE1 8XX
Description

Program

  • BERNSTEIN On the Waterfront Suite
  • DOVE Clarinet Concerto, 'Rainbow'
  • COPLAND Clarinet Concerto
  • GERSHWIN Rhapsody in Blue
Apr 11th, 2026 7:30 pm

Copland’s Appalachian Spring

Andrea Schermoly, choreographer / Louisville Orchestra / Louisville Ballet / Teddy Abrams
Whitney Hall at The Kentucky Center, 501 W Main St, Louisville, KY, United States, 40202
Description

Program

  • KOMLISCHES New Work (LOCC World Premiere)
  • BATES Concerto for String Trio
  • COPLAND Appalachian Spring

    Aaron Copland

    The Man Behind the Music

    Many know of Aaron Copland the composer, writer, educator, and conductor, but far fewer have had the chance to know the man himself. Vivian Perlis, founding director of the Oral History Project in American Music & co-author of Copland’s autobiographies, not only takes us through the life of this great American composer, but also shows us a small window into what it was like to know the man behind the music.

    Read More about The Man Behind The Music

    Events

    Upcoming Performances

    Aaron Copland's music is still widely performed around the world today. Find upcoming concerts and information in the performance calendar.

    Performance Calendar

    Latest News

    Midday Thoughts: A Hundred Years Later

    Special guest contributor Denise Von Glahn reflects on the early days of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and Copland's career one hundred years after he was awarded the Foundation's inaugural fellowship in music composition.

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    Midday Thoughts: Copland’s Networks in the Early War Years

    1941 and 1942 were exceptionally eventful for Copland and his country. The U.S. entered World War II while the 41-year-old composer was entering the height of his career.

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    Midday Thoughts: The Changing Reputation of Copland’s Piano Concerto

    With nearly 100 years of performance history to consider, the Piano Concerto's reputation cannot be summed up in a single statement. Learn about the rich history of the work's reception in the latest Midday Thoughts.

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    The Aaron Copland Fund for Music

    Aaron Copland’s legacy as the Dean of American Music lives on through a series of grant programs managed by the Aaron Copland Fund for Music. Each year, the Fund awards more than $1 million in grants to ensembles, presenters, service organizations, and more for projects and general other entities to support public knowledge and appreciation of contemporary American music.

    Learn More