September Music Birthdays

September is a wonderful month with lots of musical birthdays to celebrate. The first composer that comes to my mind is...

Amy Beach, born on September 5th, 1867 in Henniker, New Hampshire. She composed her first piece when she was just four years old. Amy heard music in colors. The color red meant the key of G Major while green meant the key of A Major. The key of C Major was a white key in her mind. Scottish Legend (Op.54, No. 11) is one of Amy Beach's classic piano solos. You can read more about her life in my book, The Life and Music of Amy Beach.

George Gershwin was born September 26, 1898 in New York City. Rhapsody in Blue was first performed in 1925 and insured his musical fame throughout the world. Gershwin also composed three Preludes for piano solo which were first performed in public on December 4, 1926 at the Hotel Rooseve1t in New York City. They were published the following year.

Lizzie Tourjee was born September 9, 1858 in Newport, Rhode Island. Her father was Eben Tourjee, the founder of the New England Conservatory of Music. Lizzie was a student at the Conservatory in 1876 and then attended Wellesley College for one year. She became a music teacher in Auburndale, Massachusetts and married Franklin Estabrook. I have only found one song composed by Lizzie, "There's A Wideness in God's Mercy." However, the interesting fact is that she composed it when she was a senior in high school, setting a poem to music by the request of her father. You can download my solo piano arrangement of this hymn free and play it yourself. (You will need Acrobat Reader to view and print the music.)

Current Issue - September 1999 - Author Bio and Bibliography - Workshops