Scott Joplin - 7

He's the most famous composer you've never heard of -- Scott Joplin was born near the end of 1867 (no one is sure of the actual date) in Northern Texas. His parents were emancipated (free) slaves, and gave Scott some of his earliest music lessons.

Scott taught himself to play the piano while his mother cleaned the houses of wealthy people who owned pianos (the Joplins did not have a piano at home). Later in his life he began to write music, and became known as "The King Of Ragtime" because of the style of music he created. An opera, music for ballet, and more than 44 ragtime dances for the piano are just a part of the music Joplin wrote in his life. Here are two of his most well known compositions:

The Entertainer

Maple Leaf Rag

Ellen Taaffe Zwilich-6

      

The very first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for music, Ellen has also been mentioned in "Peanuts":

As you can see she composed a piece of music called "Peanuts Gallery".

Another first for Ellen- she was the first woman to earn a Doctor of Musical Arts in Compositionfrom the Juilliard school! Today she is in great demand as a composer -- writing several new pieces of music every year. Here are some of her most popular compositions:

Symphony Number 1 (won the Pulitzer Prize in 1983)

Peanuts Gallery Part 1

Septet for Piano Trio and String Quartet (listen for the 'blue' sounds!)

Steve Reich-5

American composer Steve Reich uses Ostinatos in almost all of his music. He took piano lessons as a child and did not decide on a career in music until he was in college. He is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the 20th and 21st century, introducing the use of pre-recorded music in a concert and the use of ostinatos. He won a Grammy in 1990 and was awarded the Pulitzer prize for music in 2009.  Here are some examples of his music:

Different Trains - music for strings and recordings

So Percussion

Music For Pieces of Wood

Joan Tower-4

Joan Tower is one of the most well known American composers living or dead, and is also one of the most successful female composers ever! Many of her compositions have won awards including a Grammy. She is also an accomplished pianist. Joan was born in 1938 in New York. When she was a child her family moved to South America, she returned to the states many years later to go to college and continue her music career. Listen to the following examples:

For The Uncommon Woman

Petroushskates

Or Like A...An Engine