Philip Glass

Composers are often known to immortalize music through their works, and Philip Glass is among the top names among those. Born to Benjamin Glass and Ida, Philip mostly spent his childhood days at the record store owned by his father listening to the works of Beethoven, Schubert, Hindemith, and Schoenberg. Glass attended the university-preparatory school at the Peabody Institute, and pursued further education at the University of Chicago. The Juilliard School of Music was Philip's next destination where he took a keen interest in Mastering the Piano, under the tutelage of William Bergsma and Vincent Persichetti. Glass relocated to Paris after being awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and studied alongside Nadia Boulanger. When he was in Paris, he worked with music greats such as Ravi Shankar, Alla Rakha, and artists such as Lee. Glass also visited Tibet and had the opportunity to meet the XIV Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso. Philip returned to New York where he was the part of an ensemble consisting of Steve Reich and Jon Gibson, and they were regular performers at the theaters of SoHo, Manhattan.

After a few years, in 1971, Reich had a fall-out with Glass and the duo went on to form their respective troupes. The period of 1975-1986 Philip Glass worked on his Portrait Trilogy and performed in various stage plays throughout the globe. He continued to compose brilliant musical pieces right throughout his career. Philip Glass has also provided various soundtracks for movies such as Hamburger Hill, The Truman Show, Bent Candyman, The Secret Agent, The Illusionist, No Reservations, Watchmen, and Fantastic Four. The diplomatic building, The Tibet House, was co-founded by Glass, actor Richard Gere at the behest of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. Glass was also bestowed with an Academy Award nomination for his work in the soundtracks of "Kundun." Philip Glass has collaborations with various artists from around the globe such as Woody Allen, Leonard Cohen, Stephen Colbert, David Bowie, Andrew Shapiro, Brian Eno, and Martin Scorsese, among many others. There have been at leat five biographical documentaries made based on Glass's life. Philip is also the winner of a Golden Globe, a BAFTA Award, and was thrice nominated for Academy Awards. Glass is a father to four children, and also has a granddaughter.