Giora Bernstein
Giora Bernstein, professor of music history, conductor, founder and former director of the Colorado Music Festival, immigrated to Israel in 1939.
There he studied music from 1953 to 1955 at the Israel Music Academy in Tel Aviv which held many joint courses with the Midrasha, the music teachers' seminar founded and directed by Kestenberg. This is why he studied music history with Kestenberg.
In his interview, Bernstein sketches a lively portrait of Kestenberg as a man and a musician during the Tel Aviv period. For example, he recalls the admiration that he felt even as a young man for Kestenberg's versatility and his organizational capabilities. Bernstein also describes, however, Kestenberg's difficulties in adjusting to the new country.
In 1954, while still a student, Bernstein and his colleague Aharon Shefi founded the Givatayim Conservatory near Tel Aviv. Today, some 250 students between the ages of 6 and 18 receive music lessons there.
Awards: 10 ASCAP awards for Adventuresome Programming of Contemporary Music.
Citation from the city of Claremont, California.
Award from the city of Los Angeles (Claremont Music Festival)
Citation in the United States Congressional Record (Senate)
The Governor's Award in the Arts - Colorado; in Boulder, Colorado, August 11th was proclaimed "Giora Bernstein Day".
| 1933 | Born in Vienna |
| 1938 | Emigration to Palestine |
| since 1939 |
Arrived Palestine in 1939, grew up in Israel. |
| 1953-1955 |
Violin student at the Tel Aviv Academy of Music At the same time, he took courses in music history from Kestenberg at the Midrasha, the music teachers' seminar Kestenberg founded |
| 1954 | Co-founder of the Givatayim Conservatory with Aharon Shefi |
| 1955-1957 | Studies at the Juilliard School in New York (diploma) |
| 1957-1959 | Master of Fine Arts in composition, Brandeis University |
| 1960-1967 | Doctorate, Boston University |
| 1961-1967 | Music director, Boston Chamber Music Society |
| 1963-1967 | Member, Boston Symphony Orchestra |
| 1967-1975 | Professor, Pomona College, California |
| 1968-1975 | Music director, Claremont Music Festival, California |
| 1975-1998 | Professor of music, University of Colorado |
| 1976-2000 | Founder-music director of the Colorado Music Festival |
| 1970- | Numerous conducting engagements with leading orchestras in the United States, Europe, South America, Hong Kong and Japan |
| 2005 | Co-music director, Villa Mendelssohn project in Ebensee (Austria) |