Remembering Emeritus Professor of Music, Harold Shapero

Founding member of the Department of Music

Harold Shapero

Harold Shapero of Natick, Mass., a classical music composer, pianist and longtime professor of music at Brandeis University, died in his sleep on May 17, following complications from pneumonia. He was 93.



Born in Lynn, Mass., on April 29, 1920, Shapero maintained a bold presence on the music scene in Greater Boston for more than 70 years.

“Harold was one of the more wonderfully enigmatic, paradoxical composers of his generation. In person, he was amusing, warm and a true eccentric of the best sort, often catching people off-guard by saying something totally unexpected. However, the music is elegant, clear, and as compelling as anything from the middle of the 20th century,"  said Eric Chasalow, Irving G. Fine Professor of Music at Brandeis University.

“Personally, he was very generous and supportive to me and I already miss him,” he added.

Shapero’s friend Aaron Copland identified him with the American “Stravinsky school” of neo-classical composers that included lifelong friends and fellow Brandeis faculty members Arthur Berger, Leonard Bernstein and Irving Fine. Bernstein, who conducted the premiere of Shapero’s “Symphony for Classical Orchestra” with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1947, called the work “a marvel” in a letter to Serge Koussevitsky.



Shapero joined the Brandeis faculty in 1951 and spent 37 years teaching in the Department of Music. He helped develop the university’s renowned electronic music studio and taught music theory and composition. He mentored dozens of students and served as the department’s chair during the 1960s. Shapero maintained a close relationship with the university in recent years as a professor emeritus, frequently attending concerts and sharing his charm with students, faculty and staff.

"His brilliant musical achievement and his 37 years of service at Brandeis helped define the character and value of the Department of Music in its earlier decades," said Yu-Hui Chang, chair of the Department of Music.


Shapero mentored a number of students who went on to distinguished careers including Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Richard Wernick ’55, composer and editor Benjamin Boretz MFA'57, pianist, harpsichordist, conductor and composer Joel Spiegelman MFA’56 and composer Sheila Silver MA'74, PhD’76.


His compositions were recognized with numerous accolades, including the Prix de Rome, a Naumburg Fellowship, two Guggenheim Fellowships, a Fulbright Fellowship and a Koussevitzky Foundation Commission. 


A graduate of Harvard University, his teachers included Walter Piston, Paul Hindemith and Nadia Boulanger. Shapero was a mainstay at the MacDowell Colony during the 1940s, when he completed his Serenade in D. He was an early student at Tanglewood, where Copland presented a performance of Shapero’s Nine-Minute Overture.

A true Renaissance man, his widespread talents and interests ranged from the study of birds to electronics.

 He is survived by his wife, Esther (Geller), an esteemed visual artist, and his daughter, Pyra (Hannah) Shapero of Falls Church, Va.

A memorial service is planned for May 22 in Natick and will include remembrances by Shapero’s closest friends and the playing of a recent recording of his Arioso Variations, performed by pianist Sally Pinkas. A public concert and memorial service are being planned for September to be held at Slosberg Music Center.


The family asks that memorial contributions be made to the Brandeis University Department of Music, Attention Mark Kagan, 415 South Street, MS 051, Waltham, MA 02453-2728.