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| PERFORMER | Jerry Nelson |
| DEBUT | 2001 |
Leonard Birdseed is heard in the album Elmo and the Orchestra. He is the conductor of the all-bird member Birdapest Symphony Orchestra (spoofing the Budapest Symphony Orchestra), who helps Elmo try to remember his favorite piece of classical music.
The name is a play on American conductor/composer Leonard Bernstein who, during the 1960s, led dozens of concerts with the New York Philharmonic that were broadcast on television as the "Young People's Concerts." His Sesame Street namesake continues the tradition of educating young people in classical music on this album. Jerry Nelson's vocal portrayal of Birdseed is an uncanny impression of Bernstein.
The puppet was recycled from David Attenbird.