About
First recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Music. He won for his piece 'A Free Song,' adapted from poems by Walt Whitman.
Before Fame
He played the violin and banjo as a child, but he was more passionate about baseball than music. He started a dance band during his high-school years called Billy Schuman and his Alamo Society Orchestra.
Trivia
He was a composition professor at Sarah Lawrence College from 1935 until 1945 and became president of Juilliard School in 1945. He was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1987.
Family Life
His parents Samuel and Rachel Schuman were Jewish and residing in Manhattan when he was born.
Associated With
His parents named him after the 27th U.S. president William Howard Taft.
