Jonathan Strasser (June 3, 1946 – March 8, 2017) was an American professional musician, educator, teacher, and conductor.

Biography

Strasser was born and raised in New York City. He attended the

High School of Music & Art The High School of Music & Art, informally known as "Music & Art" (or "M&A"), was a public specialized high school located at 443-465 West 135th Street in the borough of Manhattan, New York, from 1936 until 1984. In 1961, Music & Art and the High ...

. He then attended the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in mu ...

for violin studies. He was a faculty member for over 30 years at Music & Art and his high school's successor, LaGuardia H.S. of Performing Arts. To address the needs of students in New York City without a music program at their school, he founded the InterSchool Orchestras of New York. He was also on faculty for the Manhattan School of Music pre-college division, for which he would remain on faculty for over 30 years as teacher and conductor of the MSM Precollege Philharmonic. Strasser held the role of actor as “the conductor” of the High School of Performing Arts orchestra during its performance in the 1980 film '' Fame''. In the press, he was profiled in the New York Times.

Death

Strasser passed away from cancer at the age of 70. He is buried at Sharon Gardens in Valhalla, New York. His legacy includes countless students who went on either to be musicians and music teachers themselves or were influenced and mentored to be dedicated to their chosen path in life, with music always being important.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strasser, Jonathan 1946 births 2017 deaths American conductors (music) American male conductors (music) American violinists Musicians from New York City