April Music Minute

George Gershwin was born in Brooklyn, New York. He taught himself to play the piano at a friend's house by following how the keys moved on a player piano. When the Gershwins finally got their own piano, George surprised everyone by sitting down and playing the songs he had learned by himself. 

George liked to compose both classical and popular music, and found a unique way to combine the two. He composed his most famous work, Rhapsody in Blue, in 1924, the same year he also had a hit show on Broadway. Gershwin also wrote the opera Porgy and Bess. He is considered one of the greatest American composers.

Rhapsody in Blue was written by Gershwin while on a train journey to Boston. 

“It was on the train, with its steely rhythms, its rattle-ty bang, that is so often so stimulating to a composer – I frequently hear music in the very heart of the noise…And there I suddenly heard, and even saw on paper – the complete construction of the Rhapsody, from beginning to end.  No new themes came to me, but I worked on the thematic material already in my mind and tried to conceive the composition as a whole.  I heard it as a sort of musical kaleidoscope of America, of our vast melting pot, of our unduplicated national pep, of our metropolitan madness. By the time I reached Boston I had a definite plot of the piece, as distinguished from its actual substance.” George Gershwin.

Enjoy an arrangement of  "Rhapsody in Blue" played by Vestard Shimkus.  (Parents, this is a You Tube video.  Please be advised that it may have a commercial prior to the video.  Please watch along with your children.) 

February Music Minute

Claude Debussy really had a double first name: Achille-Claude.  He was born in a suburb of Paris, and it was his aunt who first noticed how musical he was.  She got him started taking piano lessons.  When he was only ten, Debussy started studying at the very strict Paris Conservatory.

As a child, Debussy was fascinated by visual art, and as he grew up, he loved the style called "Impressionism."  Instead of painting realistic, lifelike paintings with hard outlines, Impressionists used thousands of dots, or many different shades of color to create the "impression" of what hey wanted to depict.  Debussy took that idea and applied it to music, creating Impressionism in music.

One of Debussy's most famous pieces is Clair de Lune.  Clair de Lune is a movement in The Suite Bergamasque.  Clair de Lune means moonlight.  Follow the link below to watch a video of Clair de Lune played by Paul Barton.  (Parents, this is a You Tube video.  Please be advised that it may have a commercial prior to the video.  Please watch along with your children.)

Clair de Lune

Debussy's biography was taken from classicsforkids.com.

November Music Minute

Frederic Chopin was born on March 1, 1810 in Poland. His father was French and his mother was Polish. In his future the music of both of these nations would influence his compositions. Some of his works for piano are called mazurkas and polonaises, which are polish dances.  As a child he showed an intelligence that allowed him to absorb everything. As he grew older, so did his abilities of observation, drawing, and his uncommon ability to imitate what he observed.

Frederic's first professional piano teacher was the respected Wojciech Zywny. He was devoted to the piano and his skills soon surpassed those of his teacher. At the age of seven, his public performances began to be compared to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as a child, and to his contemporary, Ludwig van Beethoven. 

No other composer could play the piano like Chopin. His performances showed exceptional tenderness, happiness and boldness.  Chopin's love of Poland is captured in a small silver box filled with Polish earth which he carried with him when he left Poland at the age of 21. The silver box was buried with him when he died in Paris on October 17, 1849 at the age of 38.

This biography was taken from makingmusicfun.net

Music Minute for October

Franz Joseph Haydn was born in the Austrian village of Rohrau.  His childhood was an extremely musical one, singing together frequently as a family and with neighbors.  At a very early age his parents, Mathias and Maria, recognized their san’s musical talent and accepted an offer to allow schoolmaster and choirmaster Johann Matthias Franck to train young Franz as a musician. 

In his teens Franz left the choir to begin working as a freelance musician and composing when he had time. His big break came when he was asked to be the court conductor for Prince Esterhazy, a wealthy Hungarian with an orchestra of his own. Haydn worked for the Prince for 30 years composing many symphonies and other works.
When the prince died Haydn decided to travel to London. When he arrived, he discovered that he was a famous composer with many of his compositions being performed and sold as sheet music for many years.

Perhaps more than any other music composer, Haydn is known for his wit. The most popular example is found in his Surprise Symphony when his light simple melody is suddenly interrupted by a loud chord, "surprising" the audience.


In May 31, 1809, Haydn died a happy man and a beloved composer. Considered to be one of the greatest composers of the classical era, he is referred to as the "Father of the String Quartet" and the "Father of the Symphony".

David Karp Festival 2014

This past weekend, 6 of my students attended the Karp Festival.  Congratulations to all of the students who worked hard and performed exceptionally well!  The students that competed were Emmanuel George, Samuel George, Allie Hall, Wesley Kirkpatrick, Ellie Youngblood, and Caleb Youngblood.  A big congratulations goes to Emmanuel George for being chosen to perform in the final recital.  He performed "A Sad Tale" with so much expression and did a fantastic job.  Way to go, Emmanuel!  I am so proud of each of my students and their hard work!

April Music Minute

This past weekend I had 6 students compete in the David Karp Piano Festival at Kilgore College.  I thought it would be a great time to learn about Dr. Karp.  

Dr. David Karp is a nationally known pianist, composer, educator, lecturer and author.  He holds degrees from the Manhattan School of Music and the University of Colorado.  He is a professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

Over several hundred of Dr. Karps compositions have been published.  These compositions are performed in competitions, recitals and a variety of music venues all over the world.  He has been nominated by the Dallas Music Teachers Association for the Texas Music Teachers Composer of the Year award. 

In 1993, Dr. Karp was honored with the establishment of the David Karp Piano Festival, an annual event held at Kilgore College in Kilgore, Texas, in which students perform and are judge on Karp compositions.  This is the competition some of you just attended!  

During the summer, Dr. Karp and Mrs. Karp enjoy spending time with their family at his summer cottage in Maine.  It is here where he writes some of the compositions you may be playing today!