Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) was an erudite, passionate musician whose exceptional talents and expressive gifts earned him a special place in the hearts of New Yorkers. He rose to instant national fame in 1943, at age 25, when he filled in for the suddenly ill Bruno Walter as conductor of a nationally televised New York Philharmonic performance. He went on to become the Philharmonic’s music director until 1969, and remained a frequent guest conductor there until his death. With the Philharmonic, he presented a series of 53 educational Young People’s Concerts which were broadcast on CBS, making him a familiar face around the nation. He also composed music, crossing from academic classical music into Broadway musicals, including West Side Story, On the Town, and Candide.

Somewhere is a song written by Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim that sits at the emotional core of West Side Story, imagining a world where the doomed young lovers Maria and Tony can live in peace. It has become a Broadway standard, and exists in countless versions. It first appears in the 1961 film as Tony goes to Maria after killing her brother at the the Rumble:

In all stage and screen versions, Maria sings a snippet of the song over Tony’s body at the conclusion of the drama. It also exists in an instrumental version:

Here is just one concert version with voice (Cynthia Erivo):

Michael Brown’s arrangement for Grade 2 band makes almost no compromises on the original musical material:

There is endless information out there about Somewhere. For starters, check out Wikipedia and the official West Side Story website. Also, get familiar with the lyrics:

There’s a place for us,
Somewhere a place for us.
Peace and quiet and open air
Wait for us, somewhere.

There’s a time for us,
Some day a time for us,
Time together with time to spare,
Time to learn, time to care.

Some day,
Somewhere,
We’ll find a new way of living,
We’ll find a way of forgiving.
Somewhere,
Somewhere . . .

There’s a place for us,
A time and place for us.
Hold my hand and we’re halfway there.
Hold my hand and I’ll take you there
Somehow,
Some day,
Somewhere!

There is much more material about both Bernstein and West Side Story on the web. The survey below only scratches the surface.

Leonardbernstein.com – a true treasure trove of everything Bernstein, including many personal reflections by friends, relatives, and colleagues.

Leonard Bernstein on Wikipedia.

The Leonard Bernstein Collection at the US Library of Congress.

A lengthy and heartfelt essay on Bernstein and his influence at classicalnotes.net.

West Side Story main website. Includes information on performances all over the world, lyrics to the songs, and other information.

West Side Story the musical on Wikipedia.

Preview of West Side Story book (for the musical) on Google Books.