John Kander
| John Kander | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | John Harold Kander |
| Born |
March 18, 1927 Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. |
| Genres | Musical theatre, film, television |
| Occupation(s) | Composer |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Years active | 1957–present |
| Associated acts | Kander and Ebb |
John Harold Kander (born March 18, 1927) is the American composer of a number of musicals as part of the songwriting team of Kander and Ebb. His best-known stage musicals as composer are Cabaret and Chicago, both of which were later adapted into films.
John Kander was born on March 18, 1927 in Kansas City, Missouri. His father, Harold S. Kander, worked in his father-in-law's egg and poultry business, while instilling a love of life and a healthy interest in the arts in John and his brother, Edward. Kander's parents regularly brought their two sons to local theater and orchestra concerts, and every year treated them to a trip to New York City to see theater. Kander attended his first opera performances at the age of nine, when the San Carlo Opera came to Kansas City with their productions of Aida and Madama Butterfly. According to Kander, "My mother took me and we sat in the first row. There were these giants on the stage, and my feet were dangling over my seat. It was overwhelming for me, even though I could see the strings that held the beards on the Egyptian soldiers.... My interest in telling a story through music in many ways derived from early experiences like those." Kander was raised in Kansas City, and attended Westport High School, before transferring to the Pembroke Country-Day School.
During the 1940s, Kander joined the United States Merchant Marine Cadet Corps. After completing his training in California and sailing between San Francisco and Asia, Kander left the Corps on May 3, 1946. However, due to rule changes governing national service, he was forced to enlist in the Army Reserves in September of the same year, after having already completed one semester at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. During the Korean War, Kander was ordered back into active duty, but he was forced to remain in New York City for six months of observation after a medical physical revealed scars on his lungs. He was officially discharged on July 3, 1957.
Kander studied music at Oberlin College and Columbia University, where he was a protégé of Douglas Moore and studied composition with Jack Beeson and Otto Luening. He received his master's degree from Columbia University in 1953. Following his studies, John Kander began conducting at summer theaters before serving as a rehearsal pianist for the musical West Side Story by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins in New York. While working, Kander met the choreographer, Jerome Robbins, who suggested that Kander compose the dance music for the show in 1959. After that experience, he wrote dance arrangements for Irma la Douce in 1960.
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