Rocky is the grandson of Russian Jewish immigrants. He was born in San Francisco, and as of this writing is 72. His father, Emanuel Leplin, was born in San Francisco in 1917. He was a composer, conductor, painter, and veteran of the string section of the San Francisco Symphony. SFS premiered his Symphony #1 and Symphony #2 in 1966. (The musicians liked the opening passages of Symphony #2 Mvt 3 so much they played them twice.) His brother Jarrett is Prof. Emeritus of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina. Emanuel Leplin was stricken by polio and paralyzed, at the age of 36. He can be seen here, painting with a brush in his teeth. Click here to see some of his paintings. Hover the mouse over the photo and it will show which ones were painted with a brush in his teeth. He composed all of his symphonies and most of his chamber music with the thumb and first two fingers of his right hand.