Meet the Composer!

The great composers we know and love are not too different from all of us today!

Discover what sparked their love of music, who supported them along the way, and fun facts about the people behind the great music.

Listen to the episodes below and use the activity sheet to deepen your understanding.

Activity Sheet

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Meet the Composer!

As you learn about the composer, take notes on their life and music with the given questions in mind. With your notes, write a biography of the composer. Unlike other biographies, include your personal thoughts on their life and music!

Teachers/Parents:
The goal of this exercise is to inform the student about the lives of composers and what their music is like, and for them to realize great music was written by everyday people following their passions. After a critical listen to each episode and taking guided notes, students will use the gathered information to creatively write a biography, thinking about what stood out the most to them about the composer.
 

Episodes

  • The life of Tchaikovsky

    The life of Tchaikovsky

    Episode 28 October 20, 2020

    From his humble beginnings to becoming one of the greatest composers, explore the life and music of Tchaikovsky.
  • The life of Beethoven

    The life of Beethoven

    Episode 25 September 8, 2020

    Discover the life and works of one classical music's greatest composers! His life was full of groundbreaking music, but it was also tragic as he dealt with family problems and hearing loss. We explore the details of his life and listen to samples of his music, from his first composition to his final Symphony No. 9.
  • The Life and Music of Amy Beach, an American pioneer

    The Life and Music of Amy Beach, an American pioneer

    Episode 16 March 10, 2020

    She was America's first woman composer to have a symphony performed by a major orchestra and the first American composer fully educated in the United States. She was praised and recognized but her journey to success was an uphill battle with obstacles and challenges.
  • The life of Mozart

    The life of Mozart

    Episode 13 January 28, 2020

    Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's life was kind of complicated. His childhood as a musical prodigy was filled with practicing, writing music, and performing for royalty throughout Europe. He later struggled at times finding suitable employment and wanted to find his own path. It was a life lived under the watchful eye of his father, Leopold Mozart, and cut short at the age of 35.
  • How does a composer actually write music?

    How does a composer actually write music?

    Episode 1 September 10, 2019

    Mozart and Beethoven were genius composers, but they wrote music very differently. Renowned composer from Washington, Alistair Coleman, tells us what made Beethoven and Mozart different and describes his own music writing process.