On December 20th, 2018, at the Niavaran Cultural Center in Tehran, Iran, Nasrollah Davoodi, a composer and film music researcher, spoke both knowledgeably and lovingly about the life and legacy of the late composer:

“Elmer Bernstein, ‘A man with golden touch,’ surely had his fingerprint on all his miraculous scores. Although I never had the honor of knowing him in person or studying with him, I feel like I know him, only through listening to his charming music all my life. Elmer once said: ‘For me, music is an opportunity to live in a secret world. A world of sounds. A world where I express things that are very meaningful to me, that I cannot necessarily say to anybody.’

“Well, you said it all in your music, brother. You made me and millions like me hear the voice of an angel. Although he lived millions of miles away from us, spoke a different language from us, had a different religion, upbringing and family background from us, his message of light and humanity is so universal that it is still making its way to our hearts quite easily, and I’m sure will last forever. Elmer was one of the best that God brought for us into this world to make our world a more beautiful place, which he did phenomenally well.”