Editing Jerome Kern (section)

===Early life===
Kern was born in New York City, on [[Sutton Place, Manhattan|Sutton Place]], in what was then the city's brewery district.<ref name=nyt>[https://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0127.html "Jerome Kern Dies; Noted Composer, 60"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200607182051/https://www.nytimes.com/section/learning |date=June 7, 2020 }}. ''The New York Times'', November 12, 1945</ref> His parents were Henry Kern (1842–1908), a Jewish German immigrant, and Fannie Kern ''née'' Kakeles (1852–1907), who was an American Jew of [[Bohemia]]n parentage.<ref name=baker>Slonimsky, Nicholas and Laura Kuhn (ed). [http://bakr.alexanderstreet.com/View/673896 Kern, Jerome (David)"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707104617/http://bakr.alexanderstreet.com/View/673896 |date=July 7, 2011 }}. ''Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians'', Volume 3 (Schirmer Reference, New York, 2001), accessed May 10, 2010 (requires subscription)</ref> <!--"They named him Jerome because they lived near Jerome Park (named after [[Winston Churchill]]'s grandfather, [[Leonard Jerome]]), a favorite place of theirs." IS THERE A RELIABLE CITATION TO SHOW THAT THIS IS WHY HE WAS NAMED JEROME? --> At the time of Kern's birth, his father ran a [[Livery yard|livery stable]]; later he became a successful merchant.<ref name=baker/> Kern grew up on East 56th Street in [[Manhattan]], where he attended public schools. He showed an early aptitude for music and was taught to play the piano and organ by his mother, a professional player and teacher.<ref name=grove>Byrnside, Ronald and [[Andrew Lamb (writer)|Andrew Lamb]]. [http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/14917?q=jerome+kern&source=omo_epm&source=omo_t237&source=omo_gmo&source=omo_t114&search=quick&pos=1&_start=1#firsthit "Kern, Jerome (David)"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200531065116/http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/14917?q=jerome+kern&source=omo_epm&source=omo_t237&source=omo_gmo&source=omo_t114&search=quick&pos=1&_start=1#firsthit |date=May 31, 2020 }}. ''Grove Online'', Oxford Music Online, accessed May 10, 2010 (requires subscription).</ref>

In 1897, the family moved to [[Newark, New Jersey]], where Kern attended Newark High School (which became [[Barringer High School]] in 1907). He wrote songs for the school's first musical, a [[minstrel show]], in 1901, and for an amateur musical adaptation of ''[[Uncle Tom's Cabin]]'' put on at the Newark Yacht Club in January 1902.<ref name=baker/> Kern left high school before graduation in the spring of his senior year in 1902. In response, Kern's father insisted that his son work with him in business, instead of composing. Kern, however, failed miserably in one of his earliest tasks: he was supposed to purchase two pianos for the store, but instead he ordered 200.<ref>[http://www.guidetomusicaltheatre.com/biographies/kernjerome.htm Jerome Kern] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181009095601/http://www.guidetomusicaltheatre.com/biographies/kernjerome.htm |date=October 9, 2018 }} at GuidetoMusicalTheatre.com, accessed May 17, 2010</ref> His father relented, and later in 1902, Kern became a student at the [[New York College of Music]], studying the piano under Alexander Lambert and Paolo Gallico, and harmony under Dr. Austin Pierce.<ref name=who/> His first published composition, a piano piece, ''At the Casino'', appeared in the same year. Between 1903 and 1905, he continued his musical training under private tutors in [[Heidelberg]], Germany, returning to New York via London.<ref name=grove/><ref name=who>[http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whowaswho/U227709/KERN_Jerome?index=1&results=QuicksearchResults&query=0 "Kern, Jerome David"]. ''Who Was Who'', accessed May 10, 2010 (requires subscription)</ref>