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Last year's featured compositions were from famous composers whose music we have heard all our lives. In the 2009-2010 school year, we will be chosing some of our favorite student compositions and featuring them on this page!

Leroy Anderson

Ludwig Van Beethoven

Our composer this month, Ludwig van Beethoven(1770-1827)was born in Bonn, Germany then later moved to Vienna, Austria.

Beethoven wrote 9 symphonies and many other pieces of music for piano, orchestra, and solo instruments. His primary instrument was piano.

Later in Beethoven's life, he started to go deaf. This forced Beethoven to write much of his later compositions through the memory of what the music sounded like. He used to lay on the floor and feel the vibrations of the piano through the floor in order to pick the correct notes.

Click here to listen to an excerpt from his 9th symphony!

Click here to listen to Fur Elise for piano.

Click here to listen to an excerpt from Symphony 5.

John Philip Sousa

Our composer this month is an American composer, John Philip Sousa (1854-1932). He was most famous for the 136 marches he wrote for his travelling band, the Sousa band. The sousaphone is an instrument named after Sousa because it is used in marching bands as a wearable tuba.

Click here to listen to the Stars and Stripes Forever!

Click here to listen to the Washington Post March!