For as long as I can remember, I have always had a love for music. That is why I took a special interest in the presentation about Leonard Bernstein. I remember many years ago, when I first saw West Side Story and a few years afterward with On The Town. I greatly enjoyed the music in these films, however, I never really much about the back story of Leonard Bernstein. I knew that he was a conductor and composer, but other than that, I was clueless. Michael’s presentation had my complete interest, and I was surprised to find out that he went to a prestigious music college, and even more so at the fact that he wasn’t an instant success conducting the Philarmonic Orchestra. I had a feeling that he would’ve been somewhat energetic conducting based on how his work sounds like, and when Michael showed us the clip I was pleased to find out I was right. Seeing him move and act along with the music he was conducting reminded me why I love music. It brought me back to when I had originally heard the piece many years ago. What I look for in an orchestral piece of music is if the music and the melody portray an image. If I can imagine a scene happening while hearing the music, then I consider it at quality piece. And West Side Story was among the first pieces of music I’ve ever heard that did this for me, so seeing Bernstein conduct this struck me with a somewhat nostalgic feeling.