Quotes by Marvin Hamlisch

Barbra Streisand is without a doubt one of the most honest people I have ever known. There is no doubt in my mind that she will not be doing any more concerts. Of course, she still will be making records and starring and directing in movies.

I auditioned and was accepted to the Juilliard School of Music Preparatory Division at the age of six and a half.

I never took any vocal training.

I realized that as I was getting older, I had to prioritize what I really wanted to do in the world of music. I concluded that I wanted to use my time to write shows for Broadway. Since I already have a very extensive conducting career that takes me away from New York for most weekends, I decided that I would not pursue film scores any more.

I started studying music at the age of five and a half. My older sister was taking piano lessons. When her teacher left our apartment, I would get up on the piano bench and start picking out the notes that were part of my sister's lessons.

I think that when NASA works on a moon shot, they know too well that all of the people working on it must do their job at 110 percent. Sometimes they probably put in 18 hour days, but they're aiming for the moon, and that's what counts.

I was always drawn to Broadway musicals, and obviously composers like Gershwin, Rodgers, Berlin and Porter were writing music that I found wildly impressive.

I would love to find other pop stars who would be willing to tour with our orchestra. One of the benefits of James Taylor was that he had orchestrations. Many stars do not. My wish list would be exceedingly long, and at the top of it would be Kenny G and Carly Simon. Of course, the cost of some of these artists might be prohibitive.

The way things are going, there won't be too many artists left over, in years to come, since we are shortchanging the world of would-be Barbra Streisands and George Shearings.

There have been studies that clearly state that children who are exposed to arts education at a young age will in fact do markedly better in their SAT tests.

You mustn't underestimate an audience's intelligence.

Maybe I'm old-fashioned. But I remember the beauty and thrill of being moved by Broadway musicals - particularly the endings of shows.

I still have great faith in what is good and right in all of us.