The Grand Ole Opry, originally known as the Barn Dance, made its first broadcast on Nov. 28, 1925, at WSM radio in Nashville. It was dubbed the Grand Ole Opry two years later.
Aaron Copland, (born Nov. 14, 1900, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S. died Dec. 2, 1990, North Tarrytown [now Sleepy Hollow], N.Y.), American composer who achieved a distinctive musical characterization of American themes in an expressive modern style. Copland, the son of Russian-Jewish immigrants, was born in New York City and attended public schools there. An older sister taught him to play the piano, and by the time he was 15 he had decided to become a composer. As a first step Copland tried to learn harmony through a correspondence course. Haltingly and in an environment not particularly conducive to art, he struggled toward
Nadia Boulanger, (born Sept. 16, 1887, Paris, France died Oct. 22, 1979, Paris), conductor, organist, and one of the most influential teachers of musical composition of the 20th century. Boulanger’s family had been associated for two generations with the Paris Conservatory, where her father and first instructor, Ernest Boulanger, was a teacher of voice. She received her formal training there in 1897–1904, studying composition with Gabriel Fauré and organ with Charles-Marie Widor. She later taught composition at the conservatory and privately. She also published a few short works and in 1908 won second place in the Prix de Rome competition with
The sounds of past and present are on the menu for Houston Symphony’s Concerto in F, composed by George Gershwin. Other American composers like Shawn Okpebholo, Adolphus Hailstork and Samuel Barber will round out this weekend’s performance set list at Jones Hall.
Nashville broadcaster George D. Hay created the Grand Ole Opry in 1927, popularizing the performances of small-town musicians who rose from the hills and hollers of America's heartland.