Howard Harold Hanson (October 28, 1896 – February 26, 1981) was an
American composer,
conductor, educator,
music theorist, and champion of American classical music. As director for 40 years of the
Eastman School of Music, he built a high-quality school and provided opportunities for commissioning and performing American music. He won a
Pulitzer Prize (in 1944 for his
Symphony no. 4) and received numerous other awards.