Lou Kosma: Mensch of the MET

Muse Mentors

Lou Kosma was a bass player in the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra for 36 years. He grew up in Philadelphia in the fifties in a blue collar Italian American family - a loving home where the sound of Italian tarantellas played on guitar and accordion spilled from the windows, and the smell of frying meatballs and Roma tomato sauce filled the air. Little did his working class family know that their son would one day ascend to one of the greatest orchestras in the world! But that full-time job wasn't quite enough for Lou Kosma who has been, for his whole life, a generous teacher, conducting an array of youth and community orchestras with warmth and passion. Lou was shaped by his mentor Edward Arian, a Renaissance man who had three remarkable careers including a 20 year tenure as a bass player with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Arian lead an eight-week strike that got the musicians their first guaranteed 52- week salary. Lou Kosma learned a thing or two from his mentor--determination, integrity, generosity, and love of music.

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