The history of female piano teachers, especially those working with children, remains largely unstudied. Estelle Philleo (1880-1936) is one example from the early 20th century who specialized in group lessons for beginners. A New Woman who never married, she began as a junior piano teacher at the Michigan Female Seminary before graduating in 1902.…

Witnessing the last periods of the Ottoman Empire and the first years of the Republic, Muallim Ismail Hakki Bey, like some great composers in the history of Turkish music, made important works to ensure that these "makams" are not forgotten by producing new works from "makams" that he noticed were rarely used in his lifetime.…

The purpose of this study is to explore the life and work of Pierre Sancan (1916-2008), an exemplary piano teacher who, like many masters in the apprenticeship tradition, is chiefly remembered today by his pupils alone. An all-round musician, Sancan had early success as a composer when he won the Prix de Rome in 1943, and enjoyed a flourishing…

Scott Joplin was an African American composer and pianist of singular merit and influence. This article is the second in a three-part series considering the biographical, artistic, and cultural contexts of Joplin's life and work. "King of Ragtime Composers," focuses on Scott Joplin's artistic processes, including his structuring of…

Scott Joplin (1868-1917) was an African American composer and pianist of singular merit and influence. Academic interest in Joplin has increased in recent years, leading to new discoveries about the composer's activities, yet teaching materials have not been updated at the same pace as 21st-century findings. Joplin was an entrepreneur, a…

Scott Joplin was an African American composer and pianist of singular merit and influence. This article is the final entry in a three-part series considering the biographical, artistic, and cultural contexts of Joplin's life and work and their use in K-12 general music education. "Ragtime Spaces" focuses on cultural globalization and the…

American composer Ruth Crawford Seeger grew into the role of music educator as a consummate musician with a deep interest in connecting children to their American musical heritage. This article examines the contributions of Ruth Crawford Seeger to American music education, principally through examination of primary and secondary sources and review…

A biographical sketch of Gottschalk, a pianist and "the first american composer to use the folk idiom and rhythm of this hemisphere in serious composition. (Author/JG)

The contributions of Villa-Lobos as a music educator, conductor, and composer. (AP)

In recognition of Rudolf Friml's centenary (1879-1979), his career as a composer of operettas, musical comedies, and musical satires and as a concert pianist is reviewed. (KC)

Presented is the life and philosophy of Alice Parker, a teacher of musical composition, who is in great demand as a speaker on college campuses and who composes on commission for a wide variety of organizations. (KC)

Reviews the life of Hungarian composer Bela Bartok, with emphasis on his collection and use of ethnic music sources. (SJL)

Discusses the life of William Billings, an early American composer and a leader in one of the earliest forms of organized music education in the United States: singing schools and singing societies. Examines his contributions to the U.S. musical heritage and briefly surveys his publications. (GEA)

Eleanor Smith (1858-1942), an outstanding composer of children's songs, was perhaps the most significant musician to embrace the philosophy of Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852), who founded the kindergarten in 1837 and consistently acknowledged and dignified children's natural capabilities and interests. Smith's songs still appear in published song…

William Banfield is a composer with nine symphonies to his credit, as well as countless smaller scale works--concerti, chamber works, operas, choral and jazz works--that have been performed all over the nation. He has also performed with highly acclaimed jazz performers such as Patrice Rushen, Earl Klugh, Najee, Nelson Rangell and many others. He…