Virginia was a slave-breeding state not known for the brutality associated with the cotton belt in places like Mississippi and Alabama.” Parents of Williams were classically trained musicians. He grew up in a supportive, well educated, extended…
John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932) is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. In a career spanning over six decades, Williams has composed some of the most popular and recognizable film scores in cinematic history, including the Star Wars series, the first two Jaws films, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, the Indiana Jones series, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Superman, the first two Home Alone films, Hook, the first two Jurassic Park films, Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, the first three Harry Potter films, Catch Me If You Can, Memoirs of a Geisha, War Horse, and Lincoln. John Towner Williams genre of music consists of film score, contemporary classical music, post-romanticism, and jazz. He started his career in music in 1952, and his music is still widely popular to this day. His music was an inspiration to artists of all variations.…
Robin Williams proved his acting prowess time and received three…
“The First Heretic” At this point in the class, the first heretic has arisen, George Washington Williams. He wrote an open letter to King Leopold II, condemning him for his horrendous treatment of the Congolese people including breaking all of the promises that Leopold built the Congo Free State on. While all of these claims to be proven true to the fullest extent and are later used to argue against Leopold by the international Congo protest movement. However, at this point in time Williams’ accusations against Leopold and his exploitation of the Congo weren’t very carefully ignored.…
Duke Ellington is an originator of big-band jazz, Duke Ellington was an American composer, pianist and band leader who composed thousands of scores over his 50 year career. Duke Ellington was born on April 29, 1899 In Washington, D.C. At the age of 7 he started learning piano and got the nickname duke. He wrote his first composition ‘soda fountain rag’ at the age of 15. He was awarded an art Scholarship in the Pratt institute in Brooklyn, New York, Ellington followed his passion for ragtime and began to play professionally at the age of 17.…
Jesua Calderon John Phillip Sousa was not just a musician he was a great one. He thought all about the kinds of bands he wanted to do and were popular during that time. He also turned into a band conductor. One more thing that happened was that he became a well known musician. Never underestimate your dreams no matter what the cost.…
Born January 25, 1913 in Warsaw, Poland, Witold Lutoslawski is one of Poland’s most celebrated composers. The whole of Polish music would not be what it is today if it not were for the passion and dedication of Lutoslawski. The youngest of three sons, Lutoslawski started life at his family’s estate in Drozodowo. Life was good to the family for a time, until, as true for many at the time, World War I interrupted.…
Collins’s childhood and early years greatly affected her life as an author. As a child, Collins loved reading suspenseful books which she carried on in her life as an author. For example, one of her suspenseful books, The Hunger Games. While living in Brussels, Belgium as a teen, Collins was able to see plenty of old castles and old war zones which could have influenced her to write about old historic sites in her books such as The Hunger Games. Due to her father’s job, she moved around a lot.…
On Saturday night, at the Academy's annual Governors Awards in Hollywood, the American film director, producer and actor - Spike Lee, Debbie Reynolds (American actress, singer, dancer and film historian) and the American film, stage and television actress - Gena Rowlands, were all given an Honorary Oscar for their contributions to the film industry. Spike Lee, who has produced over 35 films since 1983, has never won an Oscar in spite of the previous nominations for Best Original Screenplay for 1989's American comedy-drama film - Do the Right Thing and Best Documentary Feature for 1997's American historical documentary film - 4 Little Girls. While the 85 year old Madison, Wisconsin born actress - Gena Rowlands, who with her late husband John Cassavetes (Greek-American actor, film director and screenwriter) is widely credited with creating the model for American indie cinema, is a two-time Best Actress nominee for her and her husband's monumental film A Woman Under the Influence, and again for a Gena Rowlands' turn in his movie Gloria in 1980.…
Miles Davis - Kind of Blue One of the greatest albums in jazz - Miles Davis’s Kind of Blue has received innumerable commendations ever since its release in 1959 and has been admired by jazz fans far and wide. Miles Davis and his sterling band that consisted of top performers at that time together brought this masterpiece to the world. This album features Miles Davis on trumpet, Julian "Cannonball" Adderley on alto saxophone, John Coltrane on tenor saxophone, Wynton Kelly and Bill Evans on piano, Paul Chambers on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums(“Kind of Blue”). Five songs are contained in this album with a total length of 45:44(“Kind of Blue”). Side one includes So What, Freddie Freeloader, Blue in Green and Side two includes All Blues and Flamenco Sketches.…
John Philip Sousa was an American composer of the late Romantic era. He is most known today for his role in the American military and for his patriotic marches. Being an American composer greatly influenced his musical style, I think, as his music is very nationalistic. John Philip Sousa was born in Washington D.C. on November 6th, 1854. His father, John Antonio Sousa, was Portuguese and his mother, Maria Elisabeth Trinkaus, was German.…
“With a tense melodic line and taut harmonies, the composition is considered by many to be the most popular of all 20th-century orchestral works,” NPR Music. Adagio for Strings, was written by Samuel Barber in 1936. Originally written as the second movement of Barbers String Quartet, Op. 11, Adagio for Strings has been used frequently in times of mourning. The beauty of this piece is the strong emotions that it invokes from those that hear it.…
Gustav Holst, born in Cheltenham in September 1847, is still today considered to be one of the greatest music composers of all time. He didn’t start out as the great composer that we know and love. His path to success wasn’t the smoothest. Holst was born to Adolph von Holst and Clara Cox Lediard. His father was a professional pianist who practiced many hours a day leaving very few to his wife Clara and their children.…
John Adam is an American composer, born February 15, 1947 to Carl John and Elinore Mary Adams. At a very young age, John’s father taught him how to play the clarinet and by the…
One of the most admired minimalist composers of our time, Steve Reich, was born in New York City in 1936. His interest in music began when he was a teenager, starting with the piano and then switching to percussion after some time. He later formed a band with a friend during these early years. Reich’s passion for music continued to grow. He eventually attended Julliard, where he began listening to one of the greatest influences on his music—John Coltrane.…