Before I write my journal entry, here’s the link to my high school playing the Leonard Bernstein piece I presented in class (not as good as the one i showed in class, but, oh well): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzonZ3HCiog

For the last seminar class, we were asked to give presentations about an artist or musician or one of the sort who made an impact on the arts in New York City and the world. My choice of artist was Leonard Bernstein for two important reasons. One is that he was a huge influence on my playing, and the second was that he made a huge impact on music in New York City. But, aside from my presentation, I felt there was one presentation that was well done and I liked a lot. This was the presentation done by Courtney.

Courtney did her presentation on the lyricist and composer Stephen Sondheim. Sondheim has wrote the lyrics to many musicals and a couple of them being my favorites (West Side Story, Sweeney Todd). From this presentation, I learned that Sondheim’s life was not an easy one. He was abused by his parents at a young age, but, this made him more inspired to become a success in life. He was also an apprentice to another famous playwright, Oscar Hammerstein, who is also one of my favorites. Sondheim is one of those guys who has made an impact on everyone around him and everyone in the New York Area and everyone around him. His music will last a lifetime and the lyrics will never lose their meaning. Sondheim’s story of starting from the bottom and working his way to the top of the ladder is one that every composer should follow. His story proves that it does not matter where you start, it only matters where you finish and the impact that you make on the people around you.