Nadia Boulanger

Nadia Boulanger

Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979) was an important composer, conductor, and music professor. She taught many of the most important composers of the 20th century, including Aaron Copland, Philip Glass, Virgil Thompson, Quincy Jones, Marc Blitzstein, and Elliott Carter, as well as many famous conductors.

Her grandmother was the singer Juliette Boulanger. Her father, Ernest Boulanger, was a professor at the Paris Conservatory of Music. Her sister, Lili Boulanger, was the first woman to win the Prix de Rome.

Nadia was the first woman to conduct several major symphony orchestras, including New York, Boston, and Philadelphia.

She became a professor at the American Conservatory of Music in Fontainebleau in 1921, and eventually became its director in 1950.