Harold J. Lieberman began trumpet lessons in 1943, at age twelve, in Hartford Connecticut. By the time he was fifteen he was studying at the Hartt School of Music with an outstanding trumpet teacher, Gil Johnson, and playing in a youth orchestra. At seventeen he enrolled at the Hartt school, where Gil Johnson coached him to audition for the Hartford Symphony. As Principal trumpet, he soloed under Arthur Fiedler, a renowned guest conductor. At the same time, influenced by his brother, who played the clarinet and piano and was interested in jazz, he started going to jam sessions and listening to jazz records, learning to improvise. After a stint in the U.S. Air Force, he followed his dream by moving to New York City, graduating from the Juilliard School of Music and beginning his life as a free lance musician. Eventually he became one of the top trumpet players in the studios (making records and commercials) and was on staff at CBS, where he played on the Arthur Godfrey radio show, the Carol Burnett and Ed Sullivan T.V. shows, as well as the CBS Symphony. Perhaps his most prestigious accomplishment was playing with one of his idols, Benny Goodman.