Leon Botstein, born on December 14, 1946, in Zürich, Switzerland, to Polish-Jewish physicians who had fled Nazi persecution, immigrated to the United States with his family after over 12 years awaiting visas, settling in New York City where his parents joined the faculty at Montefiore Hospital and the Albert Einstein School of Medicine. Unlike his older siblings who pursued medicine and science, Botstein chose the arts and humanities. He is a renowned conductor, historical musicologist, educator, and scholar, serving as President of Bard College. His musical roles include music director and principal conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra (ASO), founder and music director of The Orchestra Now (TŌN), artistic co-director of Bard SummerScape and the Bard Music Festival, and principal guest conductor of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, where he was music director from 2003 to 2011; he travels to Israel approximately 10 times a year for this work. His multifaceted career spans academia, music performance, and scholarship, with affiliations in programs such as Bard Conservatory of Music, Music Theory and History, German Studies, Historical Studies, and Jewish Studies.