From the small town of Wahoo, Nebraska, Hanson achieved the status
of an influential American musician. He studied in New York City
before studying at Northwestern University, and then spent three
years in Italy as the first American recipient of the Prix de Rome
fellowship. Upon returning to the United States in 1924, Hanson
conducted his "First (Nordic) Symphony" in Rochester, New York,
and was hired by George Eastman to direct his newly endowed Eastman
School of Music that year. Hanson remained at Eastman until his
death. He was influential in establishing the degree of doctorate
of music in composition, and was a great supporter of American composers.
His own compositions include choral works, chamber music, songs,
organ and piano pieces, symphonies, and opera. Hanson was a leading
practitioner of American musical romanticism, and was considered
pre-eminent among American composers of his time.
