Music
The Epic Saga of John Williams by Leila Litkouhi
What do you think is the greatest movie of all time? One of the best parts of a movie is the sound. John Williams composed the music for some of the most iconic movies, including Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Jurassic Park.
This beloved composer has had a talent for music even throughout his childhood, and it has always been a very important aspect of his life. Williams’s father was a percussionist, so he began learning to play instruments at a young age. He started playing piano at six, then learned other instruments like the trumpet and clarinet. Eventually, in his early teens, he began to compose music. He continued to do this even when he joined the U.S. Air Force in 1952, when he was 19.
Later on, Williams progressed in his musical career, creating some of the most famous music from movies today. One of the most popular tunes is the Main Theme from Star Wars. He also has a connection with the Boston Pops Orchestra. The Boston Pops Orchestra is known as “America’s Orchestra,” and is well known around the country. John Williams was the lead conductor for a while when he was younger, and eventually passed the job to Keith Lockhart in 1995, but continues to help out the orchestra today.
Throughout his life, Williams has earned over 200 awards and 390 nominations, the most important one being the AFI Life Time Achievement Award, in honor of creating such extraordinary music for classic films. He was the first composer to receive this award in history.
In conclusion, Williams started his composition in his early life and is still going strong today, even at age 93. Throughout life, he’s rightfully earned many medals for his works. Even though now he may have slowed his pace writing music, John Williams is still known as one of the world’s greatest musicians in history - arguably as good as Mozart.
John Williams | Biography
https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Williams
https://www.kennedy-center.org/artists/w/wa-wn/john-williams/
BSO | About the Boston Pops
An Introduction to Music by Leila Litkouhi
Have you ever thought about the beginning of music, and how it’s significant in history? Music has been around since approximately 40,000 years ago, and has evolved a great deal over time. From the lyres and harps of Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt to the pop songs and orchestras today, music plays a big part in society.
Early humans like the Neanderthals were the first humans to play music. These people created bone flutes and drums made from animal skin, most likely for social gatherings or celebrations. Research shows that they were probably trying to imitate the sounds of animals and nature. Later on in Ancient Mesopotamia, 2500 BC, the Sumerians created one of the earliest string instruments called the Lyre. Already, music was developing fast. Evidence shows that the Sumerians used these instruments for entertainment, along with singers. The Standard of Ur displayed a lyre player and a singer in the top right corner of the mural, entertaining the King.
4,000 years later, classical music was born. Classical music was at its peak during the year 1750, around the time when Beethoven, Mozart, and Bach were alive. Centuries later, music began to become more modern. Jazz music popped up in the 1900s, in African American communities, and soon after Country music became popular in 1920. Finally, Rock and Roll and Pop music were created around the year 1950.
Just like how books are divided into genres like fantasy, historical, and non-fiction, music has genres, too. The five main categories of music are Rock and Roll, Jazz, Pop, Country, and Classical music, though there are many more. Most of these genres became popular in the 1900s, except for Classical music. Other popular genres include Rap, Hip Hop, Metal, and Folk music.
Today, music is very popular all around the world. Each region has its own kind of music, and music is an important part of culture. This art has been around for over 40 thousand years and continues to be part of our lives to this day.
https://www.mi.edu/in-the-know/symphony-change-tracing-evolution-music-genres/
https://historycooperative.org/who-invented-music/
https://www.audicus.com/homo-sapiens-musicus-or-why-humans-make-music-2/?srsltid=AfmBOordTyKoP8AGgKdMb_Meki8Qpjwtw81jzlKGpGSZhRrECwiB7e1H
https://fcsymphony.org/a-brief-history-of-classical-music/
Music Genres Timeline
https://www.clrn.org/what-are-the-5-genres-of-music/