Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
The Music of Samuel Barber
Speaker
Jordan Kuspa, PhD
Coordinator
Steve Clarey
Samuel Barber (1910–1981) was one of America’s most performed and esteemed composers. Propelled by early successes like the Adagio for Strings and Violin Concerto, Barber’s music was commissioned and performed by the leading musicians of his time, including Vladimir Horowitz, Leontyne Price, and Arturo Toscanini. Barber’s music is distinguished by its profound lyricism and emotional connectivity and stands in contrast to the modernist trends that dominated classical music for most of Barber’s life. This talk will introduce some of Barber’s works, tracing the arc of his career from student to master.
Speaker Bio
Presenter: Jordan Kuspa is a composer, conductor, and cellist who founded the Del Mar International Composers Symposium (delmarcomposers.org) in 2019. His compositions have been performed in Carnegie Hall and the Smithsonian and praised in the New York Times as “consistently alive and inspired.” He is Principal Conductor of the North Coast Symphony and holds degrees from the Yale School of Music
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