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! 

March Music Minute

Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) was born in Venice, Italy, which is where he spent most of his life.  His father taught him to play the violin, and the two would often perform together.

Antonio continued to study and practice the violin, even after he became a priest.  He was called the "red Priest" because of his flaming red hair.  However, after a while, his bad asthma kept Antonio from leading Mass.

After that, Vivaldi spent all his time writing music and teaching.  He taught at an orphanage for girls, and wrote a lot of music for the girls to play.  People came from miles around to hear Vivaldi's talented students perform the beautiful music he had written.

Many people think Vivaldi was the best Italian composer of this time.  He wrote concertos, operas, church music and many other compositions.  In all, Antonio wrote over 500 concertos.  His most famous set of concertos is The Four Seasons.

Click here to listen to The Four Seasons.  Can you hear the birds singing in The Spring Movement?  You do not have to listen to the entire clip to receive credit.  After all, the clip is 42 minutes long!

Sixtieth Annual Kilgore College Bach Festival

This past weekend, I took two of my students to the Sixtieth Annual Kilgore College Bach Festival. This was the first time I have entered students into this festival, however it was not the first time I had been a part of it.  Growing up, I had the opportunity to compete in this festival as well!  Each student played for the judge and if they placed, they performed in the evening recital.  I want to give a big congratulations to Ellie Youngblood for placing!  Ellie dedicated many hours to practicing I'm pleased to announce her Bach Festival trophy.  She performed Prelude in C Major beautifully in the evening recital. Congratulations, Ellie!

February's Music Minute

Ludwig van Beethoven

December 16, 1770 - March 26, 1827 

Classical & Romantic Period

Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany. His father, who was a singer, was his first teacher. After a while, even though he was still only a boy, Ludwig became a traveling performer, and soon, he was supporting his family. 

In his early twenties, Beethoven moved to Vienna, where he spent the rest of his life. Beethoven was one of the first composers to make a living without being employed by the church or a member of the nobility. At first, he was known as a brilliant pianist. But when he was around 30 years old, Beethoven started going deaf. Even though he could no longer hear well enough to play the piano, Beethoven composed some of his best music after he was deaf! 

Beethoven is considered one of the greatest musical geniuses who ever lived. He may be most famous for his nine symphonies, but he also wrote many other kinds of music: chamber and choral music, piano music and string quartets, and an opera.