Leonard Bernstein is best known as the composer of “On the Town” and “West Side Story,” the chief conductor of the New York Philharmonic, a television star, humanitarian, and a friend of the powerful and influential. To his eldest daughter, Jamie, however, she remembers him fondly in a scruffy bathrobe, as a jokester and compulsive teacher who spoke of Beethoven and the Beatles – a man who taught her to love the world in all its beauty.
Jamie Bernstein is a writer, narrator, broadcaster and film maker who has transformed a lifetime of loving music into a career of sharing her knowledge and excitement with others. Addressing a legendary musical figure as “Daddy,” instead of Maestro, Jamie’s memoir “Famous Father Girl” is a daughter’s view of composer-conductor Leonard Bernstein. Jamie comes to Berks County to speak about her experiences and her book at the Double Tree by Hilton Reading on March 1 as part of the Literatour Berks programming.
The memoir details her youth growing up in an atmosphere bursting with music, theatre and literature. Of “Famous Father Girl,” The New Yorker says it “is unique among classical-music memoirs for its physical intimacy, its humor and tenderness, its ambivalence toward an irrepressible family genius.”
The public is invited to attend this program at 10 a.m. on Sunday, March 1 at the Double Tree by Hilton Hotel Reading, but registration is required. The program costs $36 and includes brunch. To register for this event, please visit https://events.idonate.com/bernsteinbrunch to RSVP by February 21. Copies of ‘”Famous Father Girl” will be available for sale on site thanks to Reads & Company Bookshop, and Bernstein will sign books after the event.
Literatour Berks is a community program bringing 18 authors in 16 exciting programs from October 2019 to June 2020 to Berks County. This program is presented by Jewish Federation of Reading/Berks in partnership with Exeter Community Library and Sinking Spring Public Library. A complete list of authors and topics can be found at www.readingjewishcommunity.org/home/literatour. Additional support in the form of community patrons is acknowledged and appreciated.
The Jewish Federation of Reading/Berks is the planning, coordinating and fundraising arm of the Jewish community. The Federation raises and allocates funds along with the Jewish Federations of North America and collective efforts in support of many vital local, national, and international Jewish organizations.