This summer, I’ve decided to add a new feature to piano lessons. I know that many families travel during the summer months and it’s sometimes difficult to practice.
These daily assignments, June through August will help you and your students learn a bit more about the pieces they’re learning during the year – or maybe give ideas for something that they’d like to learn.
Each piece has a bit of composer info and several different interpretations, some of which are very humorous. Some of the assignments appear in Piano Maestro so be sure to have that handy, if your student uses that.
Some days give hints that the assignment of the day may be played (or reviewed) at the next lesson so please be sure that your student takes note of that (no pun intended!)
• 1944 ~ Mick Ralphs, Guitarist with Mott the Hoople
• 1947 ~ Henri G Casadesus, French alto violist (viola d’amour) and composer, died at the age of 66
• 1948 ~ Jose Vianna da Motta, Composer, died at the age of 80
• 1955 ~ Raoul Gunsbourg, Composer, died at the age of 95
• 1961 ~ Rock ’n’ roll fans were ready for a good old-fashioned summertime as Chuck Berry’s amusement park, Berryland, opened near St. Louis, MO.
• 1962 ~ Eduardo Toldra, Composer, died at the age of 67
• 1967 ~ Billy Strayhorn, American composer, pianist and arranger died at the age of 51 of esophageal cancer
• 1969 ~ Stevie Wonder’sMy Cherie Amour was released by Tamla Records. The song made it to number four on the pop music charts on July 26 and stayed on the nation’s radios for eleven weeks.
• 1974 ~ William DeVaughn, a soul singer, songwriter and guitarist from Washington, DC, received a gold record for his only hit, Be Thankful for What You Got.
• 1976 ~ Ear doctors didn’t have to drum up business this day. There were plenty of walk-ins as The Who put out a total of 76,000 watts of power at 120 decibels. They played the loudest concert anyone had ever heard, making it into “The Guinness Book of World Records”.
• 1977 ~ “Beatlemania” opened at Winter Garden Theater NYC for 920 performances
• 1989 ~ First presentation of rock n roll Elvis awards
• 1994 ~ Herva Nelli, Soprano, died at the age of 85
. 1996 ~ Normani Kordei Hamilton. Known simply as Normani, the talented singer and dancer gained fame as part of the group Fifth Harmony, who were formed in 2012 on the American version of X-Factor, a television singing competition. The group ended up in third place on the competition show but went on to achieve commercial success. In 2018 the group split and Normani began her solo career. Her first solo single “Motivation” reached the US Top 40 and was certified platinum. Normani has also collaborated with notable musicians Calvin Harris, Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj, Sam Smith, and Megan Thee Stallion.
• 1997 ~ “Once Upon a Mattress,” closed at Broadhurst Theater NYC after 187 performances.
• 2002 ~ Mario Lago, an influential composer, actor and political dissident, died of lung failure. He was 90. Throughout a multifaceted career, Lago wrote more than 200 popular songs and appeared in 20 films and more than 30 telenovelas, Brazil’s version of television soap operas. He was also an active member of Brazil’s Communist Party, and was imprisoned six times during Brazil’s 1964-86 military regime. One of Lago’s most successful songs, Amelia, sang the praises of a woman happy with very little from her husband. The name came to signify a submissive woman in Brazilian slang. Lago continued acting until January, 2002 when he was hospitalized for a month with emphysema.
• 1746 ~ Giovanni Antonio Pollarolo, Composer, died at the age of 69
• 1778 ~ Voltaire, (François-Marie Arouet), French writer of Candide, died at the age of 42. Candide was later set to music by Leonard Bernstein
• 1791 ~ Ildephons Haas, Composer, died at the age of 56
• 1797 ~ Johann Christian Lobe, Composer
• 1797 ~ Carl Ludwig Junker, Composer, died at the age of 48
• 1808 ~ Joaquim Casimiro Jr, Composer
• 1833 ~ Josef Slavik, Composer, died at the age of 27
• 1844 ~ Louis Varney, Composer
• 1853 ~ Karl Fritjof Valentin, Composer
• 1866 ~ Opera “Die Verkaufte Braut” premiered in Prague
• 1870 ~ Gustave Vogt, Composer, died at the age of 89
• 1883 ~ Riccardo Zandonai, Composer
• 1887 ~ Gino Tagliapietra, Composer
• 1906 ~ William Yeates Hurlstone, Composer, died at the age of 30
• 1909 ~ Benny Goodman, American jazz clarinetist, composer and bandleader. He became a leading player with his own bands during the 1930’s and also commissioned works from classical composers including Bartok and Copland.
More information on Goodman
• 1913 ~ Pee Wee (George) Erwin, Trumpet with Tommy Dorsey Band and Isham Jones Band
• 1913 ~ Cedric Thorpe Davie, Composer
• 1917 ~ The jazz standard “Dark Town Strutters Ball” by Original Dixieland Jass Band was first recorded
• 1920 ~ George London, Baritone singer with Bel canto Trio (with Frances Yeend and Mario Lanza); member: Vienna State Opera, Metropolitan Opera; Artistic Director of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; Director: National Opera Institute; head of the Washington Opera and established the George London Foundation for Singers in 1971.
• 1922 ~ ‘Smilin’ Ed McConnell debuted on radio, smiling and playing his banjo. McConnell quickly became a legend in the medium.
• 1962 ~ The King of Swing, Benny Goodman, turned 53 and led the first American jazz band to play in the Soviet Union. Goodman and his band played six concerts in the U.S.S.R.
• 1964 ~ The Beatles 1961 record of Cry for a Shadow was #1 in Australia
• 1911 ~ Sir William Gilbert, English librettist who together with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan collaborated on many operettas, died of a heart attack after rescuing a woman from drowning. He was 74.
• 1911 ~ Carl M Story (1916) Fiddler
• 1912 ~ Fifteen women were dismissed from their jobs at the Curtis Publishing Company in Philadelphia, PA — for dancing the Turkey Trot while on the job!
• 1922 ~ Iannis Xenakis, Rumanian-born French theorist and composer
More information on Xenakis
• 1923 ~ Eugene Wright, Jazz musician, bass with Dukes of Swing, played with Brubeck
• 1935 ~ Josef Suk, Czech violinist and composer, died at the age of 61
• 1930 ~ Eleanor Fazan, Opera and show choreographer
• 1937 ~ Peter Kolman, Composer
• 1941 ~ Roy Crewsdon, Guitarist with Freddie and The Dreamers
• 1942 ~ The biggest selling record of all time was recorded. A little out of season, perhaps, but White Christmas, the Irving Berlin classic, was recorded by Bing Crosby for Decca Records. The song was written for the film “Holiday Inn”. More than 30-million copies of Crosby’s most famous hit song have been sold and a total of nearly 70-million copies, including all versions of the standard, have been sold.
• 1942 ~ “Yankee Doodle Dandy”, based on life of George M. Cohan, directed by Michael Curtiz, starring James Cagney and Joan Lesley, premiered in New York City (Academy Awards Best Actor 1943)
• 1943 ~ Hermann Hans Wetzler, Composer, died at the age of 72
• 1943 ~ “The Million Dollar Band” was heard for the first time on NBC radio. Charlie Spivak was the first leader of the band that featured Barry Wood as vocalist. The unusual feature of the show was the awarding each week of five diamond rings!
• 1945 ~ Gary Brooker, Keyboard player, singer
• 1948 ~ Linda Esther Gray, opera singer
• 1948 ~ Michael Berkley, Composer and broadcaster
• 1949 ~ Francis Rossi, Guitarist
• 1949 ~ Gary Brooker, Rock keyboardist with Procol Harum
• 1950 ~ Rebbie (Maureen) Jackson, Singer, oldest member of the Jackson family
• 1951 ~ Dimitrios Levidis, Composer, died at the age of 66
• 1951 ~ Fanny Brice, Ziegfeld Girl (Baby Snooks Show), died at the age of 59
• 1951 ~ Josef Bohuslav Foerster, Composer, died at the age of 91
• 1951 ~ Robert Kahn, Composer, died at the age of 85
• 1951 ~ Danny Elfman (1953) Singer with Oingo Boingo;, composer of soundtracks to Batman, Beetlejuice and The Simpsons
• 1956 ~ LaToya Jackson, Singer
• 1956 ~ Hermann Abendroth, German conductor (Gewandhausorkest), died at the age of 73
• 1961 ~ Uuno Kalervo Klami, Composer, died at the age of 60
• 1961 ~ Ricky Nelson reached the top spot on the “Billboard” singles chart with Travelin’ Man. It was Nelson’s second chart-topping hit. Poor LittleFool made it to the top in August of 1958.
• 1962 ~ Barbra Streisand appeared on “Garry Moore Show”
• 1967 ~ Geronimo Baqueiro Foster, Composer, died at the age of 69
• 1971 ~ Max Trapp, Composer, died at the age of 83
• 1972 ~ The Osmonds received a gold record for the album, “Phase III”.
• 1975 ~ Melanie “Scary Spice” Brown, Singer
• 1976 ~ One Piece At A Time by Johnny Cash hit #29
• 1977 ~ Goddard Lieberson, Composer, died at the age of 66
• 1989 ~ Danielle Riley Keough, granddaughter of Elvis Presley
• 1996 ~ James George “Jimmy” Rowles, Jazz pianist, died at the age of 77
• 1997 ~ Jeff Buckley, Musician, drowned at age 30
• 2003 ~ Janet Collins, the first black prima ballerina to appear at the Metropolitan Opera and one of a few black women to become prominent in American classical ballet, died. She was 86. In 1951, Collins performed lead roles in “Aida” and Bizet’sCarmen and danced in “La Gioconda” and “Samson and Delilah” at the Met in New York City. That was four years before Marian Anderson made her historic debut as the first black to sing a principal role at the Met. Collins left the Met in 1954. During the 1950s, she toured with her own dance group throughout the United States and Canada and taught. Collins also danced in films, including the 1943 musical “Stormy Weather” and 1946’s “The Thrill of Brazil.” The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1974 paid homage to Collins and Pearl Primus as pioneering black women in dance.
Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day and was initiated to honor the soldiers for the Union and Confederate armies who died during the American Civil War.
Celebrations honoring Civil War heroes started the year after the war ended. The establishment of a public holiday was meant to unify the celebration as a national day of remembrance instead of a holiday celebrated separately by the Union and Confederate states. By the late 19th century, the holiday became known as Memorial Day and was expanded to include the deceased veterans of all the wars fought by American forces. In 1971, Memorial Day became a federal holiday.
The original national celebration of Decoration Day took place on 30 May 1868. When Memorial Day became a federal holiday, it was given the floating date of the last Monday in May.
• 1906 ~ Shields/Cobbs musical “His honor, the Mayor,” premiered in New York City
• 1910 ~ T-Bone Walker, Legendary blues guitarist
• 1914 ~ Adolf Gustaw Sonnenfeld, Composer, died at the age of 76
• 1915 ~ Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Violinist
• 1923 ~ György Ligeti, Hungarian-born Austrian composer
More information about Ligeti
• 1922 ~ Carl Tieke, Composer, died at the age of 58
• 1922 ~ Otto Krueger conducted the Detroit News Orchestra, the first known radio orchestra, which was heard on WWJ Radio in Detroit, MI. The “Detroit News” owned the radio station at the time.
• 1925 ~ Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, German baritone. Known for his performance of opera, notably Mozart, Strauss and Wagner, he is also famed for his interpretation of German lieder.
• 1927 ~ Bernhard Lewkovitch, Composer
• 1930 ~ Julian Penkivil Slade, Composer
• 1931 ~ Peter Talbot Westergaard, Composer
• 1932 ~ Henning Christiansen, Composer
• 1934 ~ Julian Slade, Composer
• 1934 ~ Rob du Bois, Composer
• 1936 ~ Maki Ishii, Composer
• 1940 ~ Hans Dulfer, Tenor saxophonist and director of Paradiso
• 1940 ~ Theodor Streicher, Composer, died at the age of 65
• 1940 ~ Irving Berlin’s musical “Louisiana Purchase,” premiered in New York City
• 1941 ~ Frank Sinatra joined Tommy Dorsey’s orchestra in recording “This Love of Mine” for Victor Records.
• 1943 ~ Dennis Riley, Composer
• 1944 ~ Gladys Knight, American rhythm-and-blues singer. She has won 7 Grammys, had 6 number one R&B albums, and had 11 number one R&B singles. Her music career was at its most successful point during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. She began her career as part of the group Gladys Knight and the Pips and later gained recognition as a solo artist. Her most well-known songs include “I Heard it Through the Grapevine,” “Midnight Train to Georgia,” and “That’s What Friends Are For.” Knight has also made several appearances in film and television, often playing herself. Gladys Knight and the Pips were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.
• 1945 ~ John Fogerty, Songwriter, singer with Creedence Clearwater
• 1945 ~ Gary Stewart, Country singer
• 1954 ~ Achille Longo, Composer, died at the age of 54
• 1957 ~ The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) was established. This is the organization that brings us the Grammy Awards for all forms of musical entertainment each year.
• 1958 ~ Mikulas Schneider-Trvavsky, Composer, died at the age of 77
• 1959 ~ Johnson and Bart’s musical “Lock up your daughters,” premiered in London
• 1963 ~ Vissarion Yakovlevich Shebalin, Composer, died at the age of 60
• 1964 ~ John Finley Williamson, conductor of the Westminster Choir, died at the age of 76
• 1966 ~ Percy Sledge hit number one with his first, and what turned out to be his biggest, hit. When a Man Loves a Woman would stay at the top of the pop music charts for two weeks. It was the singer’s only hit to make the top ten and was a million seller.
• 1973 ~ Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt, German composer and conductor, died at the age of 73
• 1975 ~ The Doobie Brothers went gold with the album, “Stampede”. The group, formed in San Jose, CA, recorded 16 charted hits. Two made it to number one, becoming million-selling, gold record winners: Black Water in March, 1975 and What a Fool Believes in April, 1979.
• 1977 ~ Jiri Reinberger, Composer, died at the age of 63
• 1981 ~ Mary Lou Williams, Musician, died at the age of 71
• 2014 ~ James K. Randall, American composer, died at the age of 84
• 1638 ~ Nicolas Forme, Composer, died at the age of 71
• 1652 ~ Jacques Huyn, Composer, died at the age of 39
• 1690 ~ Giovanni Legrenzi, Italian Composer, died at the age of 63
• 1708 ~ Jacques Danican Philidor, Composer, died at the age of 51
• 1738 ~ Bonaventura Furlanetto, Composer
• 1796 ~ James S McLean patented his piano
• 1799 ~ Jacques-François-Fromental-Elie Halévy, French composer whose five-act grand opera La Juive (1835) was, with Giacomo Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots, the prototype of early French grand opera.
• 1822 ~ Joseph Joachim Raff, German composer and teacher, greatly celebrated in his lifetime but nearly forgotten in the late 20th century.
• 1822 ~ Henry Wylde, Composer
• 1840 ~ Niccolò Paganini Composer and violinist died at the age of 57. He wrote six concertos for violin.
Read quotes by and about Paganini
More information about Paganini
• 1849 ~ “Blind” Tom Bethune, Pianist and composer
• 1878 ~ Isadora Duncan, Dancer
• 1878 ~ Carlo Marsili, Composer, died at the age of 49
• 1884 ~ Bax Brod, Composer
• 1888 ~ Louis Durey, Composer
• 1891 ~ Claude Adonai Champagne, Composer
• 1900 ~ Leopold Godowsky, Jr., American musician and photographic technician primarily known as a co-developer of Kodachrome film (1935).
• 1915 ~ Mario del Monaco, Italian opera singer famed for Verdi and Puccini
• 1928 ~ Thea Musgrave, Scottish composer, best known for her concertos operas and choral and other vocal works.
• 1929 ~ Donald Howard Keats, Composer
• 1930 ~ Eino Tamberg, Composer
• 1931 ~ Veroslav Neumann, Composer
• 1932 ~ Jeffrey Bernard, Singer
• 1935 ~ Ramsey Lewis, American jazz pianist, composer and bandleader
• 1935 ~ Elias Gistelinck, Flemish Composer
• 1939 ~ Don Williams, Country singer
• 1940 ~ Rene Koering, Composer
• 1942 ~ Priscilla Anne McLean, Composer
• 1947 ~ Liana Alexandra, Composer
• 1950 ~ Frank Sinatra made his TV debut as he appeared on NBC’s “Star-Spangled Review” with show biz legend, Bob Hope.
• 1957 ~ Siouxsie Sioux (Susan Dallion), Singer with Siouxsie and the Banshees
• 1957 ~ That’ll be the Day, by The Crickets and featuring Buddy Holly, was released by Brunswick Records. On September 14th, the tune became the most popular record in the U.S. It was the first hit for Holly and his group after two previous releases went nowhere on Decca Records in 1956.
• 1961 ~ Singer Johnny Cash turned TV actor. He appeared on the NBC drama, “The Deputy”.
• 1972 ~ “Applause” closed at the Palace Theater in New York City after 900 performances
• 1975 ~ Andre 3000. One half of the famous hip hop duo Outkast, Andre 3000 (born Andre Lauren Benjamin), began his music career in the 1990s. He and Big Boi (Antwan Andre Patton) formed the hip hop group Outkast in 1992 and released their debut album in 1994. Andre 3000 had continued success with Outkast, becoming one of the most well-regarded rappers of the 1990s and 2000s and has won 7 Grammys.
• 1983 ~ Arnoldus Christian Vlok van Wyk, Composer, died at the age of 67
• 1988 ~ Melvin J “Cy” Oliver, American jazz composer and orchestra leader died at the age of 77
• 1994 ~ Red Rodney, Bebop-trumpeter died at the age of 66
• 1995 ~ C W Stubblefield, Music Promoter died at the age of 64
• 1995 ~ Ulysses Simpson Kay, Composer, died at the age of 78
• 1996 ~ Albert “Pud” Brown, Clarinetist and saxophonist died at the age of 79
• 1996 ~ Ivan Sutton, Concert Promoter died at the age of 82
• 2017 ~ Gregg Allman, the soulful singer-songwriter and rock n’ blues pioneer who founded The Allman Brothers Band with his late brother, Duane, and composed such classics as “Midnight Rider,” “Melissa” and the epic concert jam “Whipping Post,” died at age 69
• 1832 ~ François-Louis Perne, Composer, died at the age of 59
• 1846 ~ Arthur Coquard, Composer
• 1853 ~ Monroe A Althouse, Composer
• 1856 ~ George Templeton Strong, Composer
• 1866 ~ Al Jolson, The first performer to sing in a sound movie ( The Jazz Singer)
• 1871 ~ Aime Maillart, Composer, died at the age of 54
• 1873 ~ August Conradi, Composer, died at the age of 51
• 1880 ~ John Curwen, Composer, died at the age of 63
• 1891 ~ Frederick Bowen Jewson, Composer, died at the age of 67.
• 1898 ~ Ernst Bacon, Composer
• 1898 ~ Gerard Bertouille, Composer
• 1898 ~ Ernst Bacon, American composer
• 1905 ~ Hans Holewa, Composer
• 1912 ~ Jan Blockx, Belgian opera composer, died at the age of 61
• 1920 ~ Peggy Lee, American jazz singer and music composer. She had a career spanning 70 years, during which she recorded 1,100 masters and composed more than 270 songs. She began her music career in the 1940s as a singer for Benny Goodman’s big band. Her most famous recording is a version of Little Willie Johnson’s “Fever” which was nominated for 3 awards at the inaugural Grammys in 1959. She was also an actor and famously voiced several roles for Disney’s Lady and the Tramp while also co-writing all of the original songs in the film. Lee continued to perform throughout the 1990s despite health issues. She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1999.
• 1924 ~ Johann Heinrich Beck, Composer, died at the age of 67
• 1924 ~ Victor Herbert, Irish/US cellist/composer/conductor, died at the age of 65
• 1937 ~ Lionel Hampton and his band recorded the classic, Flying Home, for Decca Records.
• 1938 ~ William Bolcom, American pianist, composer and writer
More information about Bolcom
• 1941 ~ Imants Kalnins, Composer
• 1942 ~ Lenny Kravitz, Musician
• 1942 ~ Ray Ennis, Musician, guitar, singer with The Swinging Blue Jeans
• 1943 ~ Levon Helm, Drummer
• 1944 ~ Verden Allen, Keyboards
• 1948 ~ Stevie Nicks, Singer and songwriter
• 1949 ~ Hank Williams, Jr, Singer
• 1949 ~ Teresa Stratas, Canadian soprano
• 1950 ~ Antonina Neshdanova, Russian soprano (Bolshoi Theater), died
• 1954 ~ Liberace presented a three-hour, one-man concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City. 13,000 women and 3,000 men attended. The performance nearly broke the box office mark of 18,000 set by pianist Ignace Jan Paderewski.
• 1967 ~ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”, by The Beatles, was released. It took the Fab Four only 12 hours to record their first album, “Please, Please Me”. It took them 700 hours to complete “Sgt. Pepper’s”.
• 1993 ~ Cor de Great, Pianist, conductor and composer, died at the age of 78
• 1994 ~ Michael Jackson (35) and Elvis and Pricilla Presley’s daughter Lisa Marie (26) were married.
• 1995 ~ Ron Weatherburn, Jazz pianist, died at the age of 61
• 1996 ~ Matima Kinuani Mpiosso, Musician, died at the age of 45
• 2002 ~ Oscar Florentino Tellez, one of San Antonio’s best-known bajo sexto players who was a regular with the Grammy-winning Texas Tornados, died in a one-vehicle traffic accident near Cotulla. He was 56. Tellez, a native of Laredo, taught himself to play music as a small boy. By his teens, he had learned to play the bass, drums, accordion, the keyboard and the bajo sexto, a Mexican bass guitar that resembles a 12-string guitar. In Europe, Tellez was affectionately called the ‘Frito Bandito.’
• 2003 ~ Almir Chediak, a music producer who dedicated his life to preserving the memory of Brazilian popular music, was shot to death. He was 52. Chediak was best known for transcribing the music of Brazil’s top musicians such as Caetano Veloso and Antonio Carlos Jobim and publishing them in the form of songbooks. He was also a music professor who taught some of Brazil’s top stars, including Gal Costa, Tim Maia, Cazuza and Morares Moreira, and in recent years he had gone on teach a new generation of Brazilian musicians. He also wrote two music textbooks that took harmonic theory out of the conservatory and made it more accessible for popular musicians. His publishing company, Lumiar, also produced CDs of important Brazilian musicians.
On May 13, 2023Brian Stevenson, Pender Music Director, produced our annual Spring Concert.
This wonderful evening included music by Heidi Jacobs, pianist,the DC Harp Ensemble, the Pender Joy Ringers Handbell ensemble, Sean Wittmer, violinist, and an Irish music session.
The Joy Ringers played Streams of Life by Jason Krug and Fantasticaby Ron Mallory.
Streams of Life Review: This exciting original tune from the pen of Jason Krug is not to be missed! Featuring alternating measures of 4/4 and 3/4, the joyful, memorable melody moves throughout the ensemble. Frequent interludes take the piece off in different directions before coming back to the melody once more. A slower, introspective middle section gives a respite before the driving feeling returns once more to close the piece out in explosive, festive fashion!
Fantastica Review: Inspired by the scores to epic fantasy films, this original composition will take your listeners on a journey into their own imaginations while keeping your ringers engaged with its intertwining melodies and multiple handbell techniques.
Donations received went tothe REACH International foundation in support of two Sri Lankan orphanages.
Towel Day is celebrated every year on 25 May as a tribute to the author Douglas Adams by his fans.
On this day, fans carry a towel with them, as described in Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, to demonstrate their appreciation for the books and the author.
• 1765 ~ Pierre-Joseph Le Blan, Composer, died at the age of 53
• 1767 ~ Ferdinand Franzl, Composer
• 1767 ~ Friedrich Johann Eck, Composer
• 1821 ~ Diederich Krug, Composer
• 1826 ~ Christian Friedrich Ruppe, Composer, died at the age of 72
• 1847 ~ Alphonse Goovaerts, Composer
• 1878 ~ Bill “Bojangles” (Luther) Robinson, Vaudeville dancer, tap-dancing coach for Sammy Davis, Jr. and Shirley Temple
More information about Robinson
• 1878 ~ Gilbert and Sullivan’s opera “HMS Pinafore” premiered in London
• 1887 ~ Gas lamp at Paris Opera caught fire, 200 died
• 1889 ~ Hans Joachim Moser, German musicologist
• 1889 ~ Gilardo Gilardi, Composer
• 1889 ~ Sverre Jordan, Composer
• 1898 ~ Mischa Levitzki, Composer
• 1901 ~ Milenko Zivkovic, Composer
• 1902 ~ Helvi Lemmikke Leiviska, Composer
• 1904 ~ Kurt George Hugo Thomas, Composer
• 1912 ~ Eddie Maxwell, Singer
• 1914 ~ Paolo Giorza, Composer, died at the age of 81
• 1917 ~ Leon Felix Augustin Joseph Vasseur, Composer, died at the age of 72
• 1919 ~ Gino Negri, Composer
• 1921 ~ Hal David, Oscar-winning songwriter with Burt Bacharach
• 1924 ~ Theodore Morse, Composer, died at the age of 51
• 1925 ~ Aldo Clementi, Composer
• 1926 ~ Miles Davis III, American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He combined be-bop, modal chord progressions and rock rhythms to create ‘cool jazz’. He was one of the major influences on the art from the late 1940s.
Read quotes by and about Davis
• 1926 ~ Kitty Kallen, Singer
• 1928 ~ Frigyes Hidas, Composer
• 1929 ~ Beverly Sills, American soprano and opera administrator, chairperson of Lincoln Center; National Chair of March of Dimes’ Mothers’ March on Birth Defects
• 1934 ~ Gustav Theodore Holst, English Composer, died at the age of 59
More information about Holst
• 1936 ~ Tom T. Hall, Singer
• 1936 ~ Jan Levoslav Bella, Composer, died at the age of 92
• 1943 ~ Leslie Uggams, Singer
• 1943 ~ John ‘Poli’ Palmer, Musician, sax, flute, keyboard with Family
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