David Oppenheim

David Jerome Oppenheim was an American clarinetist, and classical music and television producer. Oppenheim directed the Masterworks division of Columbia Records from 1950 to 1959. During this time he worked with numerous major figures in the music world including Igor Stravinsky, with whom he formed a friendship, later producing for him. In the 1960s, he worked for the television production company Robert Saudek Associates and worked as a writer and producer for CBS from 1962 to 1967. His 1964 documentary about cellist Pablo Casals, Casals at 88, won the Prix Italia. Dean of the New York University School of the Arts (NYU) from 1969 to 1991, in 1985, he was the principal architect of the Tisch School of the Arts. One of his major achievements was developing the NYU arts programs into a major institution with courses offered in photography, cinema, musical theater, dramatic acting, and writing.