Composer of the Month Archives

This Month in History: Famous Composers’ Birthdays

At Piano Academy, we celebrate a different composer every month by listening to their music and learning about their life. This month we’re focusing on Sergei Prokofiev, a super cool Russian composer who lived in the first half of the 20th century. It turns out his birthday is this month! So that got us thinking… […]

Maurice Ravel

It’s a new month, which means it’s time for a new composer of the month! This month we’re highlighting Maurice Ravel. Ravel was born on March 7, 1875 in France who grew up and became a well-known and very accomplished pianist, composer, and conductor. Here are 10 fun facts you may not know about Ravel. […]

A Month of Haydn

Studies show that children tend to like what they are exposed to frequently. So throughout this month we focused a lot on learning about our composer of the month, Franz Joseph Haydn, a.k.a. “the father of the symphony.” Haydn was one of the grand master composers of the Classical era (roughly between 1750–1820). He came from very humble […]

Why YOU Should Listen to Classical Music

A while ago, we shared some of the benefits of playing classical music—language development, higher test scores, and higher IQ among them. But you don’t have to take lessons to reap the benefits of classical music—just listening to it has been observed to have some amazing side effects, as well! Here are some of the benefits […]

A Christmas Classic from Our Composer of the Month

One of the best (and easiest) ways to get your kids interested in music is listening to it around the house! Studies show that children grow to like what they are exposed to the most. Luckily for us, great classical music is easier to find than you might think. If you’ve ever seen Looney Tunes, Animaniacs, […]

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Haydn: Composer of the Month at Piano

Haydn: Composer of the Month at Piano by Chris Morrison Franz Joseph Haydn (pronounced “high-den”) was one of the two grand master composers of the Classical era (roughly 1730-1820); the other was Mozart. Although Mozart was the most astounding child prodigy in the history of music and is more well-known to the general public […]

Composer of the Month at Piano Lessons: Liszt

by Kadee Henderson, Purple Piano Academy Solo Teacher Franz Liszt was a renowned Hungarian pianist and composer throughout Europe during the Romantic era. Liszt was born on October 22, 1811 in Raiding, Hungary (now Raiding, Austria). He learned to play the piano from his father, who was a talented […]

Rachmaninoff in Utah: Connections Made by a Piano Teacher

Rachmaninoff in Utah–Connections Made by a Piano Teacher by Eleasah Halsmer, Piano Academy Faculty At Piano Academy, each month is dedicated to a different classical composer. The students learn about their life and music in the theory lab during their piano lessons. Our piano teachers will play songs by the composer of the month […]

Persistence in Piano Lessons

“Along with the rest of the Conservatory, the Piano Academy . . . . spotlights one character trait each month – our ‘Virtues for Virtuosos!’ It’s our hope that our students will recognize that the benefits of piano lessons go far beyond the physical ability to play an instrument; studying music can help us become […]

Composer of the Month at Piano Lessons: Bach

June has just begun, and that means we have a new composer of the month at piano lessons! June’s composer of the month is Johann Sebastian Bach. We are very excited to learn more about Bach, and to listen to his music! Our piano teachers played several YouTube playlists yesterday in the theory lab as […]