Leonard Bernstein was an American composer, conductor, author, music lecturer, and pianist.

He was among the first conductors born and educated in the US to receive worldwide acclaim.

His fame derived from his long tenure as the music director of the New York Philharmonic, from his conducting of concerts with most of the world's leading orchestras, and from his music for West Side Story, Peter Pan, Candide, Wonderful Town, On the Town, On the Waterfront, his Mass, and a range of other compositions, including three symphonies and many shorter chamber and solo works.

Bernstein was the first conductor to give a series of television lectures on classical music, starting in 1954 and continuing until his death. He was a skilled pianist, often conducting piano concertos from the keyboard.

Leonard Bernstein was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1991.