Erich Kunzel

Erich Kunzel Jr. was an American orchestra conductor who was born in New York City, United States, in 1935. He achieved early professional recognition in 1965 after beginning the country's first winter pops series, 8 O'Clock Pops, and is famous for his 32-year tenure as the conductor of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra and for being referred to as the “Prince of Pops”. Kunzel graduated from Dartmouth College and later studied at Harvard and Brown universities. He served as the conductor of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra starting in 1977 and released nearly 90 recordings on the Telarc label. His discography includes the studio recordings American Fantasia (1978), Pomp & Circumstance (1978), and American Jubilee (1988), which won the Grand Prix du Disque. In 1998, he became the first American pops conductor to perform in China. Kunzel was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 2006. He died in 2009.