• 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
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  • 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

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
May 12th, 2026 8:00 pm

Leonard Slatkin & Cameron Carpenter

Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin / Leonard Slatkin
Philharmonie, Herbert-von-Karajan-Straße 1, Berlin, Germany, 10785
Description

Program

  • BERNSTEIN Three Dance Episodes from On the Town
  • BARBER Toccata festiva for organ and orchestra op. 36
  • COPLAND Symphony No. 3

    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: William Warfield & Aaron Copland

    The bass-baritone William Warfield and composer Aaron Copland were almost a generation apart but developed a decades-long relationship through collaborations on Old American Songs.

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    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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    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