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Lukas Foss (August 15, 1922 – February 1, 2009) was a German-American composer, pianist, and conductor.
At Curtis, Foss began a lifelong friendship with classmate Leonard Bernstein, who later described Foss as an "authentic genius." In 1961 Bernstein conducted the premiere of Foss's Time Cycle, while Foss would conduct the premiere of Bernstein's Symphonic Dances from West Side Story.Rubin, Susan G: Music Was It: Young Leonard Bernstein (2011). Watertown, MA. Charlesbridge. . Page 142-3.
Foss also studied with Serge Koussevitzky during the summers from 1939 to 1943 at the Berkshire Music Center (now known as the Tanglewood Music Center) and, as a special student, composition with Paul Hindemith at Yale University from 1939 to 1940. He became an American citizen in 1942.
Foss was appointed professor of music at UCLA in 1953, replacing Arnold Schoenberg. While there he founded the Improvisation Chamber Ensemble, which made its Boston debut in 1962 for the Peabody Mason Concert series. Christian Science Monitor, 23 March 1962, Louis Chapin, "Lukas Foss at Sanders", Boston He founded the Center of the Creative and Performing Arts in 1963 while at the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Over six separate years from 1961 to 1987, Foss was the music director of the Ojai Music Festival. From 1963 to 1970 he was music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. From 1971 to 1988 he was music director of the Brooklyn Philharmonic (formerly Brooklyn Philharmonia), while also music director of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra from 1972 to 1976. From 1981 to 1986, he was conductor of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. He was a professor of music, theory, and composition at Boston University beginning in 1991. In 1994, he conducted a concert in the Naumburg Orchestral Concerts, in the Naumburg Bandshell, Central Park, in the summer series. His notable students include Faye-Ellen Silverman, Claire Polin and Rocco Di Pietro.
Foss is grouped in the "Boston school" along with Arthur Berger, Irving Fine, Alexei Haieff, Harold Shapero, and Claudio Spies. He was a National Patron of Delta Omicron, an international professional music fraternity. In 2000 he was awarded a Gold Medal by the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Foss, who had Parkinson's disease in his final years, died at his home in Manhattan on February 1, 2009, aged 86, of a heart attack.
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