[1][4][5] Afterward he attended Northwestern University, where he studied composition with church music expert Peter C. Lutkin and Arne Oldberg.

During his time in Italy, Hanson wrote a Quartet in One Movement, Lux Aeterna, The Lament for Beowulf (orchestration Bernhard Kaun), and his Symphony No.

In addition, he cited the works of several other composers as being influential while studying in Rome including: Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Gustav Holst, Giovanni Palestrina and Richard Wagner.

These week long concerts were free to the public and featured established works by American composers as well as premiers of new compositions.

The festival concerts were eagerly anticipated by audiences in Rochester until 1971 and were also broadcast regularly over national radio networks from the Eastman Theater.

At this time he engaged the talents of student ensembles at the Eastman School to present Milestones in the History of Music on the radio.

This weekly series of programs presented a sweeping survey of the history of Western music which was broadcast locally in Rochester, New York on WHAM and nationally on the NBC Red Network.

Hanson also engaged his student ensembles to present a similar series for the CBS radio network which he entitled Milestones in American Music.

[27][28] By synthesizing his own musical idealism with Whitman's robust optimism, Hanson composed a work which reflects the boundless possibilities of youthful creativity.

The work incorporates a clear signature motto to his "Romantic" Symphony during the orchestral prelude as well as a largely harmonic setting for the chorus which culminates in a fervent hymn.

[27] Following its premier, Song of Democracy became a particularly favorite composition among all-city high school choruses and promoted the ideal vision of an inclusive democratic society which embodies tolerance and a respect for human rights.

[28] During the 1950s and 1960s Howard Hanson continued to adapt innovative techniques in an effort to educate as large an audience as possible, even as revolutionary changes in mass media emerged in America.

He also served as a member of the Music Advisory Panel of the American National Theatre and Academy along with Virgil Thomson, William Schuman and Milton Katims.

[29] This panel consisted of leading composers and academics who evaluated candidates for the Department of State's Cultural Presentations program.

[30] Musicians who were accepted into this program represented America's cultural diplomacy initiatives in concert venues throughout the world during the Cold War.

In this new role, Hanson continued his efforts to foster a widespread understanding and appreciation of American music through performances, publications and recordings.

Operating funds for the institute were largely derived from royalties generated from compositions and recordings which were executed by Hanson during his tenure at the Eastman School.

[38] Hanson's performances with the orchestra received critical acclaim in thirty four cities and sixteen countries throughout Europe, the Middle East and Russia.

[39] Excerpts from Hanson's Second Symphony were used to accompany several exterior sequences and the end credits in the released versions of Ridley Scott's 1979 horror movie Alien[47] without his permission, but the composer decided not to fight it in court[48]—they replaced certain sections of Jerry Goldsmith's original score at the behest of 20th Century Fox.

[51] He has also been identified by critics as an "American Neoromantic composer par excellence" whose compositions were conceived in the grand romantic tradition of Antonin Dvorák.

[4] It has also been noted that one of Hanson's hallmarks as a composer is his utilization of melodic lines which flow seamlessly in a manner which is almost improvisational, unpretentious, and very American.

[55] The composer and critic David Owens indicated that Hanson clearly embraced the use of tonal beauty in his compositions in order to give expression to a conservative musical ideal.

By carefully blending his use of tonality with a masterful understanding of orchestral depth, Hanson succeeded in producing compositions which Owen described as being both memorable and compelling.

Several of his students won the Pulitzer Prize for Music including: Dominick Argento, John La Montaine and Robert Ward.

In addition, several of his students enjoyed widespread recognition as composers including: Wayne Barlow, Jack Beeson, William Bergsma, Ulysses Kay, Kent Kennan, Peter Mennin, Louis Mennini, W. Francis McBeth, Gardner Read, and Margaret Vardell Sandresky.