A night to enjoy Leonard Bernstein

Luis Pena

Legendary conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein will be remembered

in a concert by the Pacific Symphony. There will be a preview talk

before the concert by his daughter, Jamie Bernstein.

Leonard Bernstein, one of the greatest musicians of the last

century, covered a wide spectrum. His music reached Broadway, TV,

records and the cinema. “I’m always happy to be given the opportunity

to talk to people about my dad. He was an amazing guy,” Jamie

Bernstein said.

Pacific Symphony conductor Carl St. Clair was not only a friend of

her father’s, but is a very good friend of hers.

Leonard Bernstein brought various musical genres from one arena

into the another, such as jazz and Broadway into the concert hall. He

took his classical training and brought it to the stage.

“He was always breaking down the walls,” Jamie Bernstein said.

Education was very important to Leonard Bernstein. He used to put

on “Young People’s Concerts” while he was the conductor of the New

York Philharmonic -- he did these concerts for 14 years, three of

which were telecast during prime time on CBS. He considered his work

in education his greatest achievement.

One of the things that Leonard Bernstein would do with his

children would be to use the pop music, such as the Beatles and

Motown, to teach them about musical processes such as blues

progressions. He would use those same pop songs in his “Young

People’s Concerts.”

He also started the Bernstein Education Through the Arts Fund,

which promoted using the arts as a tool for learning.

“It was never boring [being with Leonard Bernstein],” Jamie

Bernstein said. “It was really fun. He was a good dad.”

The relationship that she and her siblings had with their father

was fantastic, Jamie Bernstein said. When he was on the road

conducting, he was in one mode, and when he was at home he would be a

homebody and compose. He would do several different activities with

them, such as tennis, word games and sailing. They would also hang

out at their country home in Connecticut.

“There was basically no music he didn’t like,” Jamie Bernstein

said. “He could always find something to get excited about in pretty

much any kind of music -- everything from Balinese monkey chant, to

Cuban music, to African drumming, to Gustav Mahler, to Lennon and

McCartney ... . He just loved everything.”

The work that he is best known for is “West Side Story,” but the

piece of music that he considered his favorite, was his “Mass,” Jamie

Bernstein said. “Mass” follows a Catholic liturgical mass but uses a

variety of ensembles, such as an orchestra, a marching band and a

rock band. The piece was commissioned for the opening of the Kennedy

Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. It was

controversial because it addressed the issues of the Vietnam War.

“I do know how much love Lenny had for [Broadway musicals], and I

experienced the joy and elation he received from his relationship

with Broadway,” St. Clair said. “I just wanted to experience this as

he did.”