is, through educational programming, mediating so-called high and low
art, and their implications for cultural identity. Bernstein’s approach to
music education has the same desired effect as Copland’s populist
compositions in that it broadens the understanding of who is able to
engage with certain kinds of music. Of particular importance here is that
this approach draws, in part, on Bernstein’s cultural position as a Jew in
order to achieve this effect.
It is also of significant importance to identify where Bernstein’s relationship
with education relates to his Jewish identity. Education has an incredibly
important role within Jewish culture, something Bernstein referred to in
self-assessment of his place as an educator:
Bernstein was ever mindful that he was a Jew; he composed music
on Jewish themes and in later years referred to himself as a “rabbi,”
a teacher with a penchant to pass on scholarly learning, wisdom, and
lore (Seldes, 2009, p.8).
This demonstrates that Bernstein himself linked his “penchant” for
education with his Jewish identity. In addition to the importance placed by
many religious Jewish texts on passing on knowledge to one’s children,
Harriet and Moshe Hartman point to the prevalence of secularity in
American Jewry as a major contributor to the proportion of involvement
in secular higher education in the American Jewish community (Hartman
& Hartman, 2011, p.135). They further suggest that an over-reliance on
‘Jewish cultural capital’ (relationships and connections with members
of the Jewish community in positions of authority or tendency towards
certain career paths due to historical marginalisation) can limit “bridging
to the wider society” (ibid.).
From this, it follows that Bernstein’s secularity and assimilation while
he was at Harvard (which will be explored further in later chapters) may
have contributed to his passion for education and his use of it to engage
a broader portion of American society. Furthermore, this seeking of a
bridge to the wider society through secular education mirrors Auerbach’s
claim that Jews who were second generation Americans, like Bernstein
and Copland, engaged in liberal political endeavours as a way of
achieving acceptance within the definition of American identity. The
major difference in career outcome for the two composers is the explicit
relationship between Copland’s music and his involvement with the
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