John Kander Accomplishments

I now realise that the Arts, including music, creates opportunities to engage, inspire and enrich our lives. Music making and responding can challenge, provoke responses and enrich our knowledge and understanding of ourselves, our communities and the world.

Throughout the reading this week, the information presented in David Elliott and Bennett Reimer’s texts stressed the importance of music and more specifically, music education. “People everywhere find music rewarding, and everywhere we find people engaged in formal and non-formal efforts to teach and learn music.” (Elliott, 2014, p. 4)

At the end of World War I, an excited America was poised for a cultural renaissance; patriotism was on the rise, the strong concept of Manifest Destiny had passed its peak of influence, and, most importantly, there had not been a clear shift in culture for decades. The Jazz Age of the 1920s was about to dawn, bringing with it youthful, risqué morals and a carefree look on life. From these ideals, a new, strongly American form of entertainment would emerge: musical theatre. Most commonly found in New York City on Broadway even to this day, musical theatre became an escape from reality and an entry into the imagination. The grand and splashy components that make up what is considered a classic Broadway musical can ultimately be traced back to Cole Porter. Porter’s writing, albeit at times controversial or raunchy, was able to harness the frantically beating heart of the Jazz Age and turn it into treasured shows. Using his unique melodies, romantic or idealistic lyrics, and his pioneering of writing about the human experience, Cole Porter shaped American music and theatre from the 1920s through the 1940s.

The music industry is one of the biggest industries in the world due to how music is a universal language that does not create barriers, it breaks down walls. People dream all of their life to make it as a big star to write songs and make their mark on the recording industry. For most of the recording artists out there today, music was something that saved them from any troubles. And from then on, it is something that they wanted to create and write as if it is a journal. Music is something that people want to share with each

53. Roger and Hammerstein shows from earliest to latest: Oklahoma, carousel, south pacific, the king and I, and the sound of music

My life would be incomplete without performing music. I’ve spent time, in concert bands, in bell choirs, in school and church choirs, and singing, playing in music festivals, and in pit bands trying not to laugh my head off at the actors’ improvisations. But the art that truly speaks to my soul does not lie in creating music, it lies in dancing to it.

Throughout my life, I have been taken by music. However, it was not until my 8th grade year in middle school that I realized that I could be a musician for the rest of my life. Before that, music just seemed like something to keep me out of trouble. I wasn’t the best player at that time, and I still knew very little about it all. How could something like that ever support someone? Still, it was the only talent that I could find any success in, and it was still very enjoyable, so I wanted to still give it a shot.

I came to realize that playing music can bring someone great fortune. I had no plans for the future, no goals, nor dreams before I starting my path in music. I never wondered without direction. But one day, good fortune came to me. A fortune I would have never of thought of. It was The Gracias choir and music. I was thinking to myself “I have never been so happy nor have I had so much enjoyment to live. To have an open mind to people around the world by delivering my heart threw my music. It looks like a dream!"

From the day we’re in our mother's stomachs, to the day we die, we have always been listening to music. For me, listening to music all my life helped me develop a passion for it. When I was around the age of 6 my dad introduced me into the world of Rock. The very first band I remember listening to was System of a Down and ever since then, I fell in love with rock music and all its possible variations; for a long time this was all I listened to. It wasn’t until high school that I started listening to all sorts of genres and realized that I wanted to have a career in the music industry. That's when I learned about producing music.

What musical theatre does best is to be abstract, not literal reality. Julie Taymor director

Jukebox musicals began in film and later shifted to theatre. They had begun to make theatre more popular with the public, which had begun to gravitate towards film and music. By combining the two, they gain some of the same as well as a whole new audience. I will discuss how this came to be by speaking of the shift that occurred.

There are many great composers throughout the centuries. Each composer has a story to tell that is very interesting, when you dig deep for the information. Every composer has their own way of making, composing and producing music. Irving Berlin is no exception. Berlin is an extraordinary composer, and when examining his story amazing facts are found. Berlin is not just a musician and composer, he is a man of many hats. Berlin’s life is extremely compelling.

"Is Music the Key to Success?" The New York Times. The New York Times, 2013. Web. 22 Feb. 2016. Joanne Lipman argues that music and success have a tight connection, and that any individual can increase their ability to work well by playing an instrument. Lipman points out various famous and successful people whom are even mildly skilled at an instrument, and argues how the skills they learned while playing an instrument carried over into their professional life. Lipman proves her argument through personal interviews with all of the people she mentions in her paper. From actors to statisticians, Lipman finds a way to incorporate all of their experiences into a single coherent argument. The article shows how, aside from financial help, music can provide useful skills anyone can employ in their professional

Before being able to completely appreciate musical films, one must be aware of their remarkable history and how they came into existence. According to an article written by Cara Schreffler:

“There is music in the air, music all around us, the world is full of it and you simply take as much as you require”-Sir Edward Elgar. Elgar was one of the 19th century’s most famous composers. He devoted his life to writing musical pieces such as Enigma Variations, The Dream of Gerontius, and the Pomp and Circumstance Marches. Certain personality aspects of Elgar, such as his wit and creative humor, are found in his music and set him apart from the other composers of his time.