Cheyenne Williams
Mrs. Fish
English 3 G-5
18 March 2014
George Gershwin: American Composer and Pianist
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. He expressed his times through his music. Among his best known works are the orchestral compositions Rhapsody in Blue, An American in Paris, and the opera Porgy and Bess. His compositions have been adapted for use in many films and for television, and several became jazz standards recorded in many different ways. His compositional style was somewhat like his jazz piano improvisations in that he “varied” melodies more than he “developed” them. Gershwin succeeded as both a popular songwriter and a concert-hall composer.
George Gershwin was born on September 26, 1898 in Brooklyn, New York. He was the second oldest of four children. Growing up New York he was influenced early by the music around him. Some genres included the early jazz of African Americans and the Eastern European sounds of his Jewish heritage. (Macmillan/McGraw-Hill) Some would say that George was a hyper child. George's father once predicted the trouble-prone boy would "grow up to be a bum." (Saturday Evening Post. 80-80) He would later go on to prove everyone wrong. In 1910 when Gershwin was 12, his family acquired an upright piano at their home on the lower east side of New York City. (Saturday Evening Post.80-80) He began his musical training at thirteen. At fifteen he left high school to work as a pianist and song-plugger for musical publishers. (George Gershwin) Many people would go by the store to buy sheet music. He would play the newest tunes for the costumers. (Macmillan/McGraw-Hill) At the age of sixteen, he began working for a publishing house of Remick in New York. He played the piano f...
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...is the most careful, scholarly, faithful, high-integrity job that has ever been done with piano rolls.'' (Walsh, Michael Levy, Daniel S.)
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Ernie Barnes: Research of the Football Artist Ernie Barnes was and still is one of the most popular and well-respected black artists today. Born and raised in Durham, North Carolina, in 1938, during the time the south as segregated, Ernie Barnes was not expected to become a famous artist. However, as a young boy, Barnes would, “often [accompany] his mother to the home of the prominent attorney, Frank Fuller, Jr., where she worked as a [housekeeper]” (Artist Vitae, The Company of Art, 1999). Fuller was able to spark Barnes’ interest in art when he was only seven years old. Fuller told him about the various schools of art, his favorite painters, and the museums he visited (Barnes, 1995, p. 7).
On September 26, 1898, in Brooklyn, New York the legend was born. George Gershwin the son of Russian-Jewish immigrants. George sparked his interest in music when his mom and dad bought a castoff piano for George’s older brother, Israel. At the age 15, Gershwin dropped out of school, and began playing in New York night clubs. He spent his day and nights playing pianos for demanding customers. After three-years of playing tunes for customers, he transformed into a highly skilled and amazing composer. To earn extra cash on the side, Gershwin worked as a rehearsal pianist for Broadway singers. Soon after that Gershwin published his first song “When You Want 'Me, You Can't Get 'Me, When You've Got 'Em, You Don't Want 'Em". At the time it was published, Gershwin was only 17 years of age, the song earned him $5. In 1917, Gershwin created a novelty rag, called “Rialto Ripples”, which was a commercial success. By 1919 he recorded and accomplished his first national hit song called “Swanee”. A famous Broadway singer, Al Jolson, heard Gershwin’s performance of “Swanee” at a party and decided to sing it in one of his shows. That’s when George Gershwin’s career really took off. Between1920 to 1924, Gershwin put on a show for an annual production put on by George White. George White was a composer, musical dir...
The music of jazz became an important aspect of American culture in the early 20th century. The crisp syncopation of ragtime and the smooth tunes of the blues seeped into American mainstream music through dance halls and saloons and later through ballrooms. Instruments like the piano, trumpet, trombone and clarinet became important and symbolized the “swing-feel” of jazz because of their capability to syncopate and improvise precisely. With the help of the booming recording industry, musical geniuses were discovered and their talent and contributions to the emergence of jazz spread throughout the entire country. Such musicians include composer, arranger and pianist Jelly Roll Morton who heavily influenced the development of early jazz by his unique piano style, his “invention” of musical notation for jazz, and his compositions that have become the core in the jazz repertory. Because the style was new and different and so successful in drawing in large audiences, musicians around the world tried to mimic it. Furthermore, Morton’s masterpieces were the first to show notation for complicated jazz music and thus, formed the basis for standard notation in jazz compositions today.
Lin-Manuel Miranda summed up his feelings about art in an interview: "The ultimate way art can be political is that I think it engenders empathy which is the thing politicians can't seem to do" (Watson). Throughout history, many forms of art have created new ideas in our society and will continue to challenge new ways of thinking and how we communicate with one another. In the last fifteen years, artist Lin-Manuel Miranda has written two Broadway Musicals that have had a major impact on how we historically view our country. By writing stories based on the traditional ideas of the "American Dream" and contemporizing the history of our nation's birth, he has captivated a broad and diverse audience. Lin-Manuel's genius, coupled with his passion for the arts, plays an integral role on how we should view our nation's history, to uphold American values for all of us, not just some of us.
The Life of Billy Joel Billy Joel was born on May 9, 1949 in Bronx, New York. He moved at the age of four to a small town on Long Island. This is where at the ripe age of four he discovered the art of music. Originally a classical music fan, Billy Joel honed his skills with classical piano training. This undoubtedly has had a major influence on his life and certainly his music.
...e pervading racial stereotypes and promote racial and social integration. Porgy and Bess is one of the only pieces of its time that allowed African-American artists the opportunity to perform, creating that integration. Gershwin music is still played today by orchestras. As a member of the Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra, I have played “Summertime” and “I Got Plenty of Nuttin.’” Although the music is played by my string instrument, I can still feel the jazz and the groove that Geshwin created. The music in it is really beautiful and has memorable melodies that people have held on to. Porgy and Bess is a wonderful American musical work that is significant and has launched the careers of many African American artists.
George Lopez was born on April 23rd in the year of 1961 in the Mission, Hills of Los Angeles, California. His father who was Anataso was a migrant worker who left his wife, Frieda for a different lifestyle. After Lopez was born, Frieda and George Moved in with his mom’s parents who tried to raise Lopez In her hometown of California. When George was a young kid his mother explained to him that his father had died. Even though, the real truth was that he was in fact alive but wanted nothing to do with his son who he had with his ex-wife. His mother soon remarried when George was only ten years of age. His mouther also left, so he had nowhere to go other than to his grandparents’ house because he figured they would take care of him. Lopez was
Music throughout time has not only reflected the feeling of the musician but rather the feelings of a group of people at any one time It is important when learning about a period of time to look at the music of the period because it most likely shows the mood of the people and current events of the country. One time period specifically music greatly reflected the political and social culture of the time is the United States of America in the 1960s. One artist during this time was Bob Dylan. His most widely known song was called, “The Times They Are A-Changin”.
Edward Kennedy Ellington, American jazz composer, orchestrator, bandleader, and pianist, is considered to be the greatest composer in the history of jazz music and one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century. He composed over 2000 works and performed numerous concerts during his musical career. A compilation of some of his most popular music is collected on a CD called "The Popular Duke Ellington." Ellington personally created most of the music played by his orchestra. He often wrote pieces for specific players with distinctive musical styles in his band, such as "Concerto for Cootie" (1940) for fellow musician and trumpeter, Cootie Williams. With the help of American trumpeter James "Bubber" Miley, Ellington often incorporated in his music the jungle effect.
Lin-Manuel Miranda is an American composer, lyricist, playwright, and actor. Miranda was born around the 1980s in New York City. He was raised in the Inwood, Manhattan which is also known as Washington Heights and is of Puerto Rican descent. His neighborhood has had an affect on his musical stylings such as salsa, hip hop, and rap. He is a big activist and even joined Democratic lawmakers in a call for a Senate bill which would allow Puerto Rico to declare bankruptcy in order to ease debt. Miranda is also a proud owner of an Emmy, 3 Grammys, 11 Tonys, and a Pulitzer Prize. Overall, Lin-Manuel Miranda is a modern composer with a latin and rap twist with an influence of hip hop culture on Broadway that is directed towards upper class people who usually look down on black culture. His most famous works, In the Heights and Hamilton, are award-winning hits with musical stylings of hip hop and rap culture.
Lin Manuel Miranda is a playwright, songwriter, singer, actor, and rapper. He has many accomplishments during his career, including Tony awards, Grammys, emmys, and other awards. He is most popular for creating and starring in the Broadway musicals Hamilton, and in the heights.
In so doing, he has laid the cornerstone of an American art, established a recognizably American musical idiom (“UXL Biographies” 4). His masterpiece, Appalachian Spring (1944) is probably his most popular work to date. This composition won the Pulitzer Prize for music in 1944 and the New York Music Critic’s Award as the outstanding theatrical composition of 1944-1945 (“UXL Biographies”
Lin-Manuel Miranda is an award winning composer, and performer. He has created many phenomenal musicals, a popular one being Hamilton. Miranda is proud of his Latino roots, and often incorporates it into his work. Two weeks after Hurricane Maria hit the island of Puerto Rico, Lin-Manuel Miranda began to take matters into his own hands. The island is facing a humanitarian crisis, left with high risks of disease and famine. Miranda recorded a song, “Almost Like Praying”, with the help of some of his friends. All the song’s proceeds go to a Hispanic disaster relief fund. Jennifer Lopez, Gina Rodriguez, Fat Joe, Gloria Estefan, Camila
The Voice, 'Ol' Blue Eyes', Swoonatra, La Voz, and Chairman of the Board. These were all sobriquets of the infamous Frank Sinatra. However, one of Sinatra's earliest and possibly most well-known nicknames was The Voice. A title such as The Voice is more than just a name that sounds cool and sensual. It promises something flawless about his singing style, signifying you could select one song, or perhaps even an album, as representative of Frank Sinatra. However, Sinatra had a multitude of styles over his five decade career, so to call him the voice could potentially be doing an injustice, perhaps a more accurate description would be The Voices.
Alongside Young, Riley, and Glass, Steve Reich is a lofty name in the formation of American minimalistic music (Mertens, 11). Throughout the 1960s, these composers helped push the boundaries of music as they fused elements of classical, jazz, rock/pop, and world music.