Composer Research Assignment

COMPOSER RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT MUSIC IN OUR LIVES I NUMBER: _____ NAME: ______DATE: ______

Each student will complete a Research Paper and an Oral Report/PowerPoint Presentation on a famous composer from the Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, or 20th Century style periods.

COMPOSERs and DUE DATES WILL BE DRAWN IN A CLASS LOTTERY

Due dates for all are picked during class in the lottery AND YOU WILL BE HELD TO THAT DATE! LATE PAPERS/PRESENTATIONS WILL BE LOOSE POINTS EVERYDAY THEY ARE LATE. NO EXCEPTIONS! If you are not prepared on your due date you will receive A LARGE PENALTY which could decimate your Research Paper/Project grade

INSERT YOUR COMPOSER’S PICTURE HERE

1. Name of Composer ______

2. Date of Birth ______Date of Death ______

3. Place of Birth ______Place of Death ______

4. What time period is your composer from? Describe this musical period. ______

5. What was this composer’s childhood like? Talk about his family and if they affected his/her decision to become a composer. ______

6. How old was your composer when he/she started to compose? ______

7. Who were his/her teachers/mentors? Say a little about these people and their influence on his/her work. ______

8. What composers influenced his/her work? ______

9. List 3 things that you find interesting about this person’s life and musical accomplishments! a. ______b. ______c. ______

10. Why is this composer considered famous? (Give some reasons) ______

11. Choose 2 pieces of music that your composer wrote.

a. ______

b. ______

12. Describe the musical elements of each piece (Instruments/voices, style, melody, rhythm, tempo, dynamics, harmony, form, etc.) This will take some research! Compare your findings to the recordings and be able to illustrate/explain/point out these in your presentation. Be able to cite examples of how the composition demonstrates elements of a particular style period. ( Music must be played for the presentation no exceptions! You may load it on the presentation in mp3, mov, flv, as long as it will play on a computer. You may also use your phone, ipod, itouch, ipad, etc. (no phone if you have lost that privilege in my class)

a. ______

b. ______

13. What did you enjoy the most in these two pieces?

14. Was there a reason/inspiration for these works? ______

15. What are the major points in your composer’s career? ______

16. Tell about the composer’s personal life. Marriage, children, etc. ______

17. What instruments did your composer play? Write for? How did he/she learn them? ______

18. Names of other important figures with which the composer is associated (poets, artists, arrangers, performers, the person who catalogued the composer’s works, etc)