Musical Milestones - Softcover

Marion O'Leary

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0988200732 ISBN 13: 9780988200739

Publisher: Minuteman Press Berkeley, 2013

Synopsis

Marion O Leary s Musical Milestones: My Tale of Science and Music tells how to find time in a busy professional life to be a serious and passionate musician at the same time. A scientist by trade, specializing in chemistry, biochemistry, and plant physiology, O'Leary maintained his enthusiasm for music throughout his long university career, continuing to develop as a musician and performer and ultimately becoming a composer as well. As a pianist, he played Beethoven, Chopin, and Ravel; as a composer he wrote in a variety of genres. For those seeking a role model for how to keep their artistic side in play as they strive to succeed in the business or academic worlds, this book is a lively and practical guide. For those who want to learn more about music - classical, ragtime, jazz, rock, and folk - and its interplay in the mind of a brilliant scholar and scientist, this book will feed the imagination in the manner of Lewis Thomas or Oliver Sacks. For those who are neither scientist nor musician, this inspired memoir is a delightful story of a small-town boy who kept his soul filled with music even as he rose in the ranks of his chosen profession.

About this title

About the Author

Marion O Leary grew up in Illinois and was educated at the University of Illinois-Urbana, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Harvard University. In a career at the University of Wisconsin-Madison that spanned more than 20 years, he established a reputation for excellence in research and teaching in chemistry and biochemistry. He continued his teaching and research as Head of the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and as Dean of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at California State University, Sacramento. He is currently a consultant for the Carnegie Institution for Science. An internationally-recognized authority on the use of isotopes for studies in chemistry and biology, Marion s work in the 1970s led to a new approach to developing drought-resistant plants; a ground-breaking paper from 1980 has now been cited more than 2000 times. A committed teacher, Marion has been a leader in implementing innovative teaching methods. He is the author of Contemporary Organic Chemistry, a textbook that provided a new approach to teaching. He and his wife, Betsy Kean, have collaborated for over 30 years on outreach programs for students and teachers in Wisconsin, Nebraska, and California, including two statewide television series in Nebraska. Marion is a classically-trained pianist specializing in late 19th and early 20th century music. He is also a composer and has written and performed music for both acoustic and electronic instruments. His memoir, Musical Milestones, tells about the struggle and ultimate union of his two passions, music and science.

Edition details

• Publisher: Minuteman Press Berkeley
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0988200732
• ISBN 13: 9780988200739
• Binding: Paperback
• Illustrator: Margaret Copeland
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 322
• Editor: Jannie Dresser