Aaron Copland: Famous American Composer, Copland was born in Brooklyn, New York, on November 14, 1900. The child of Jewish immigrants from Lithuania, he first learned to play the piano from his older sister. At the age of sixteen he went to Manhattan to study with Rubin Goldmark, a respected private music instructor who taught Copland the fundamentals of counterpoint and composition. During these early years he immersed himself in contemporary classical music by attending performances at the New York Symphony and Brooklyn Academy of Music. He found, however, that like many other young musicians, he was attracted to the classical history and musicians of Europe. So, at the age of twenty, he left New York for the Summer School of Music for American Students at Fountainebleau, France. In France, Copland found a musical community unlike any he had known. While in Europe, Copeland met many of the important artists of the time, including the famous composer Serge Koussevitsky. Koussevitsky requested that Copland write a piece for the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The piece, “Symphony for Organ and Orchestra” (1925) was Copland‟s entry into the life of professional American music. He followed this with “Music for the Theater” (1925) and “Piano Concerto” (1926), both of which relied heavily on the jazz idioms of the time. For Copland, jazz was the first genuinely American major musical movement. From jazz he hoped to draw the inspiration for a new type of symphonic music, one that could distinguish itself from the music of Europe. In the late 1920s Copland‟s attention turned to popular music of other countries. He had moved away from his interest in jazz and began to concern himself with expanding the audience for American classical music. He believed that classical music could eventually be as popular as jazz in America or folk music in Mexico. He worked toward this goal with both his music and a firm commitment to organizing and producing. He was an active member of many organizations, including both the American Composers‟ Alliance and the League of Composers. Along with his friend Roger Sessions, he began the Copland-Sessions concerts, dedicated to presenting the works of young composers. It was around this same time that his plans for an American music festival (similar to ones in Europe) materialized as the Yaddo Festival of American Music (1932). By the mid-‟30s Copland had become not only one of the most popular composers in the country, but a leader of the community of American classical musicians. It was in 1935 with “El Salón México” that Copland began his most productive and popular years. The piece presented a new sound that had its roots in Mexican folk music. Copland believed that through this music, he could find his way to a more popular symphonic music. In his search for the widest audience, Copland began composing for the movies and ballet. Among his most popular compositions for film are those for “Of Mice and Men” (1939), “Our Town ” (1940), and “The Heiress” (1949), which won him an Academy Award for best score. He composed scores for a number of ballets, including two of the most popular of the time: “Agnes DeMille‟s Rodeo” (1942) and Martha Graham‟s “Appalachian Spring” (1944), for which he won the Pulitzer Prize. Both ballets presented views of American country life that corresponded to the folk traditions Copland was interested in. Probably the most important and successful composition from this time was his patriotic “A Lincoln Portrait” (1942). The piece for voice and orchestra presents quotes from Lincoln‟s writings narrated over Copland‟s musical composition. Throughout the ‟50s, Copland slowed his work as a composer, and began to try his hand at conducting. He began to tour with his own work as well as the works of other great American musicians. Conducting was a synthesis of the work he had done as a composer and as an organizer. Over the next twenty years he traveled throughout the world, conducting live performances and creating an important collection of recorded work. By the early ‟70s, Copland had, with few exceptions, completely stopped writing original music. Most of his time was spent conducting and reworking older compositions. In 1983 Copland conducted his last symphony. His generous work as a teacher at Tanglewood, Harvard, and the New School for Social Research gained him a following of devoted musicians. As a scholar, he wrote more than sixty articles and essays on music, as well as five books. He traveled the world in an attempt to elevate the status of American music abroad, and to increase its popularity at home. Through these various commitments to music and to his country, Aaron Copland became one of the most important figures in twentieth-century American music. On December 2, 1990, Aaron Copland died in North Tarrytown, New York. Bessie Smith: Bessie Smith was born on April 15, 1894. She was an Africa American blues singer and part of the Harlem Renaissance. Sometimes referred to as The Empress of the Blues, Smith was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s. She is often regarded as one of the greatest singers of her era. "Downhearted Blues" is one of her biggest hits. Smith was raised in poverty in the South, she ran away as a teenager to join a traveling show as a dancer. In 1912, Smith began performing in the same show as blues vocalist Ma Rainey. She continued to perform at various theaters and on the vaudeville circuit. Her career really took off once she started recording. Signed to Columbia Records, Bessie Smith made her first recording in 1923—the song “Down Hearted Blues” was a big success. With her rich, powerful, and clear voice, she became a successful recording artist and toured extensively for the rest of her life. During her recording career, Bessie Smith worked with many important jazz performers, such as the legendary jazz artist Louis Armstrong on several tunes, including “Cold in Hand Blues” and “I Ain‟t Gonna Play No Second Fiddle.” By the late 1920s, Bessie Smith‟s career began to flounder. She stopped working with Columbia in 1931 and made her final recordings in 1933 with John Hammond. A dedicated performer, Smith still continued to tour. As a blues artist, Bessie Smith could deliver her songs with such emotion. She knew firsthand about struggle and heartbreak. Her first husband, Earl Love, died. Her second marriage to Jack Gee in 1923 was an unhappy union. The couple adopted a son named Jack Gee, Jr. and after they separated in 1929, they feuded over the child. Smith also battled a problem with alcohol. Bessie Smith died on September 26, 1937, as the result of an automobile accident. Since her death, her music continues to win over new fans and collections of her songs have sold well over the years. Smith has been immortalized in numerous works, including Edward Albee‟s 1961 play The Death of Bessie Smith. Duke Ellington Who was Duke Ellington? Duke Ellington (1899-1974) is America's greatest composer. Duke led an orchestra, played piano and composed over 2000 pieces of music. How did Duke get his nickname? Duke began his life as Edward Kennedy Ellington in Washington, D.C.. He was nicknamed by a classmate who admired him. This royal nickname was appropriate for Duke because of his elegant and proud manner. Even as a child, Duke had fans. As a child, Duke disliked his piano lessons. Duke's parents enrolled him in lessons when he was in grade school. He dreaded his lessons and preferred to play baseball instead. His parents insisted that Duke practice piano basics everyday. He grew bored with practicing the same tunes and quit his lessons. Duke didn't become interested in learning piano again until he was a teenager. Duke Ellington was attracted to girls and they were attracted to piano players. He often joked that he learned to play the piano to attract girls. While washing dishes for his summer job, Duke met a waiter who invited him to go see ragtime pianist, Harvey Brooks. Duke loved the way Brooks expressed himself through his music. Brooks played ragtime in a way that did not follow the rules of classical piano--he had freedom to change the rules and express himself more freely. Duke discovered that he wanted to make his own music too and taught himself how to play piano like Brooks. He practiced until his fingers could fly and even arranged melodies as he played. Duke began his career performing at his high school dances. Soon Duke began playing for his high school dances. He even composed his own songs like "Soda Fountain Rag." When he was 19, he started playing at parties, dance halls and other venues. He liked to wear flashy clothes and slick his hair back to impress the ladies in the audience. How did Duke become a bandleader and composer? Duke then moved to New York where performers were in demand. There, he played in different jazz clubs, saloons and dance halls. Soon he was leading his own band, the Washingtonians at The Kentucky Club, located in Times Square. Even at this early stage, musicians and music critics were noticing that Ellington's music was different. In 1927, after getting a gig at the Cotton Club, the hottest jazz spot in Harlem, he began to produce sophisticated arrangements of his own. Duke's music impressed audiences all over the world. Duke Ellington and His Orchestra played at the Cotton Club for eleven years, though the band took off frequently to tour around the country, and to make movies in Hollywood.