James levin biography and educator
James Levine
American conductor and pianist (1943–2021)
This article is about the conductor and pianist. For the composer, see James S. Levine.
James Lawrence Levine (liv-EYEN; June 23, 1943 – March 9, 2021) was an American conductor and pianist. He was music director of the Metropolitan Opera from 1976 to 2016. He was terminated from all his positions and affiliations with the Met on March 12, 2018, over sexual misconduct allegations, which he denied.
Levine held leadership positions with the Ravinia Festival, the Munich Philharmonic, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In 1980 he started the Lindemann Young Artists Development Program, and trained singers, conductors, and musicians for professional careers.
After taking an almost two-year health-related hiatus from conducting from 2011 to 2013, during which time he held artistic and administrative planning sessions at the Met, and led training of the Lindemann Young Artists, Levine retired as the Met's full-time Music Director following the 2015–16 season to become Music Director Emeritus.
Early years and personal life
Levine was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, to a musical Jewish family. His maternal grandfather was a composer and a cantor in a synagogue; his father, Lawrence, was a violinist who led dance bands under the name "Larry Lee" before entering his father's clothing business; and his mother, Helen Goldstein, was briefly an actress on Broadway, performing as "Helen Golden".
Levine had a brother, Tom, who was two years younger, who followed him to New York City from Cincinnati in 1974, and with whom he was very close. He employed Tom as his business assistant, looking after his affairs, arranging his rehearsal schedules, fielding queries, scouting out places to live, meeting with accountants, and accompanying Levine on trips to Europe. Tom was also a painter.[ Email: jalevin@ucsd.edu James’ research focuses on distributed learning and on ways to help people learn better using powerful distributed learning environments. He has developed several innovative models of learning, including the concept of teleapprenticeships. He has been studying “teaching teleapprenticeships”, instructional frameworks that allow education students to learn within the context of remote K-12 classrooms. He is currently developing multi-mediator models of learning. Courtesy of UCSD Education Studies Award-winning director, playwright, and producer, James Levin founded the Cleveland Public Theatre in 1981, bringing innovative off-off-Broadway-style theatre to Cleveland after three years with the LaMaMa Experimental Theatre Club in New York City. He served as the founding executive and artistic director for CPT for more than 20 years. In 2007, he was awarded the prestigious Ohio Arts Council "Governor's Award" for community impact and, in 2012, he was awarded the Robert Bergen Prize by the Cleveland Arts Prize organization. Levin has always embraced the idea of the arts’ role in community and economic development, and he continues that vision in current work. He was the founding director of the Gordon Square Cultural Arts District, the former executive and artistic director of Cleveland’s acclaimed Ingenuity Festival of Art and Technology, the Cleveland World Festival, and now presides over FireFish Arts, seeking to transform downtown Lorain, Ohio, into a thriving arts district. He is director of the Gordon Square Cultural Arts District, the former executive and artistic director of Cleveland’s acclaimed Ingenuity: A Festival of Arts & Culture, and the executive producer for Detroit Avenue Arts. He has also served as a professor and the Director of the college of Wooster’s Center for Entrepreneurship. At the CPT, he has launched many regionally recognized projects such as the New Plays Festival, Danceworks, the Performance Art Festival, the American Indian Festival, Vaudeville, and such education projects as the Summer Theatre Enrichment Program for inner city youth and the Y Haven (transitional housing center for men in recovery) Theatre Project. His directing credits include Atomic Vaudeville, Marat/Sade, The Sam Shepard Festival, and Killer Joe. He has written lyrics for various rock bands and for Let the Knowing Speak, a jazz cantata featuring Jon Hendricks, Jackie Byard, and Phil Wilson, and scripts for CPT’s late-
Professor, Education Studies, University of California, San Diego
Selected PublicationsWelcome to Jim Levin Books
Jim's focus in many of his books is to examine the "general picture of gay men” in the United States over the past seven decades. The depiction of gay men in society has been less than flattering and Jim's books examine the evolution of society's portrayal and treatment over the years. Jim's goal is to provide inspiration and education on a subject that has had very little examination.
Jim's foray into writing began with his PhD dissertation on the life of Maryland Governor Albert C. Ritchie, (1919-34) with parts later published by the Maryland Historical Society. This book was published in 1969. In addition to his works about gay men, Mr. Levin also offers several works of fiction that have been influenced by his unique perspective.
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"Mystery lovers rejoice…There is a new author on the prowl!"
– Kindle Reader Review by Steven, "The Quacking Duck Mystery"