Howard Hanson was borne in Wahoo, Nebraska, in 1896. He was educated at the University of Nebraska, the Institute of Musical Art in New York City, and Northwestern University. Hanson studied at the American Academy in Rome from 1921-1924, for he was the first musician to be awarded a fellowship from that institution. Until 1964, he was director of the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. After which, he earned the post of director of the Institute of American Music at the University of Rochester. Hanson composed much in the Romantic tradition, however, he exerted himself equally as much to spark interest in contemporary American music. He was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1944 as well as a George Foster Peabody Award in 1946 for his Symphony No. 4 (1934). In 1979, he was elected to membership in the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He died, two years later, in 1981.
 
 

Orchestral Music
 

SYMPHONIES: Nordic Symphony (1922); the Romantic Symphony (1930); Symphony No. 4 (1934).
 

Theatre Music
 

OPERAS: Merry Mount (1933).