Bernard Heiden

Bernhard Heiden (1910-2000) studied violin, clarinet, and piano as a child.  He pursued professional training as a composer at the Berlin Hoschule where he studied with Paul Hindemith.  Heiden credited Hindemith as his primary composition teacher and the older German's taste for Neoclassicism and polyphonic textures are easily discerned in Heiden's music.  Heiden married a fellow student in 1934 and the couple immigrated to the United States the following year.  They settled in Detroit where Heiden founded and conducted the Detroit Chamber Orchestra.  He joined the faculty of the Art Center Music School in 1935 and taught there for eight years.  Heiden became a U.S. citizen in 1941; in 1943 he joined the U.S. Army and served as assistance bandmaster of the 445th Army Services Band.  He was discharged in 1945 and completed a Master's degree in musicology at Cornell University.  In 1946 Heiden joined the faculty of Indiana University, teaching there until his retirement in 1981.