Leroy ostransky biography

Leroy Ostransky (), composer, author, educator

Leroy Ostransky was born in New York on January 17, , to Russian immigrants. In his memoir, Sharkey’s Kid, he recounted his difficult childhood growing up on the lower East Side.

Leroy ostransky Ostransky's memoir details his difficult relationship with his father, who could be both physically and emotionally manipulative and even abusive. To use a phrase he would hate, he impacted them. An authority on jazz, he published five books on the subject. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate , is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia.

 His family made whiskey during Prohibition in the back of the saloon they owned. Ostransky described his father, Sharkey, as “the only Jew with a knife scar on his jaw, a tattoo on his left forearm, and tears in his eyes every time he heard a cantor chant the Kol Nidre on his Victrola.” Sharkey loved music and had aspirations for his son to become a child prodigy and virtuoso violinist.

Young Leroy was given violin lessons and practiced in the back of the saloon. He failed to meet his father’s high expectations and was beaten regularly.

Leroy ostransky biography wikipedia Wikiwand for Chrome. He loved to drink, he ate heroically, he sang, he laughed, he told wonderful, wild stories; life was meant to be composed, as on a piano, the music of existence itself - all-out, nothing held back. A half-hour later we were at Rosellini's , the old one on University Street. Early life [ edit ].

Ostransky had no talent for the violin; he preferred playing piano and jazz. At age 14, he was sent to a reform school after he stole library books. The following year Ostransky dropped out and ran away. He supported himself painting houses and playing piano in jazz clubs. 

During World War II, Ostransky was drafted into the army and stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington.

He served as the music arranger for War Bond shows from to After the war, he married and enrolled at the University of Puget Sound. His talents were quickly recognized and he was hired as an assistant in music theory from to He formed and directed the Workshop Band, whose purpose was to perform music written by arranging classes.

Leroy ostransky biography He was raised near the Bowery in Manhattan by a father who bootlegged gin. Once I had a midmorning breakfast with Leroy; he demolished a breakfast that would horrify a nutritionist and draw admiring sighs from any trencherman worthy of the title. He formed and directed the Workshop Band, whose purpose was to perform music written by arranging classes. In his lifetime he wrote more than published musical works.

The band was one of the most popular organizations on campus and performed at freshmen assemblies, homecoming shows, and other events.

After graduating with honors from the University of Puget Sound in , Ostransky attended New York University where he earned a master’s degree in and later his Ph.D. at the University of Iowa. In he joined the faculty at the University of Puget Sound where he became the composer-in-residence and taught music for more than 30 years.

He was credited with bringing jazz into higher education. In he was named one of the nation’s 12 outstanding teachers by People magazine. After suffering two strokes, he retired from the university in

Ostransky was a prolific writer. He composed five symphonies, a comic opera entitled “The Melting of Molly” (about a woman trying to lose weight) and numerous instructional pieces for classroom use.  He was commissioned to write a piece for the Washington State Bicentennial celebration.

Leroy ostransky biography death A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Dutch Wikipedia article at [[:nl:Leroy Ostransky]]; see its history for attribution. To use a phrase he would hate, he impacted them. Wikiwand for Firefox. Ostransky was a prolific writer.

“Symphony No. 4: American,”  based on three folk songs, premiered on October 23,   It was performed by the Seattle Symphony, along with the University of Puget Sound Adelphians and the Pacific Lutheran Choir. The date was  recognized as “Leroy Ostransky Day” by Tacoma Mayor Johnson and the city council.

Upon acceptance of the proclamation, Ostransky commented, "I don't deserve it, but I'll take it."

An authority on jazz, he published five books on the subject. The Anatomy of Jazz was considered a standard text.  He also wrote music reviews which appeared in the Seattle Times.

In addition he authored a Sunday column "Notes and Comments" for The News Tribune for 23 years and hosted a radio show "Oh, Oh Ostransky” in which he accompanied himself on the piano while commenting on current events and telling jokes. The Tacoma Arts Commission presented Ostransky with its Excellence in the Arts Award for his outstanding contributions to the arts in the city of Tacoma.

Ostransky was working on a book about Charles Mingus when he died in , after a long illness.

By Lori Ricigliano, revised