Born in
Budapest, Kozma graduated from the
Franz Liszt Academy of Music in 1931. He then pursued further studies in
Dresden at the
Hochschule für Musik "Carl Maria von Weber" in the orchestral program associated with the
Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden. After graduating in 1933 he worked as an opera conductor in Europe. At the outbreak of World War II, Kozma left Europe to join the conducting staff at the
opera house in
Quito,
Ecuador in 1939. In 1941 he emigrated to the United States and settled in New York City. He began his career there working as a conductor and vocal coach for
Broadway productions, notably conducting
Porgy and Bess and
Eva Le Gallienne's production of
Alice and Wonderland. He also conducted the first national tour of
Carmen Jones and worked as an accompanist, notably playing for tenor
Leslie Chabay in his New York City recital debut in 1950. In 1948 he became a vocal coach at the
Metropolitan Opera, eventually joining the conducting staff in 1950. Outside of the Met, Kozma was active as a conductor at the
Empire State Music Festival during the 1950s. In 1960 he led
Birgit Nilsson in concert at
Carnegie Hall. He also worked as a guest conductor at a number of European opera houses during the 1950s and 1960s. Kozma left the Metropolitan Opera staff to join the music faculty at Indiana University for the Fall semester of 1957. He served as the head of the school's conducting and opera theatre programs, leading the Indiana University Philharmonic and the Indiana University Opera Theatre until his death in a
car crash in
Bloomington, Indiana in 1976. In his will he left his large collection of books and musical scores, the "Kozma Collection", to the music library at Indiana University. ==References==