The Bicycle: Jillian Horton Jillian Horton was born in Brandon, Manitoba. Jillian's journey through medicine and music is startlingly unique. By her mid-teens she was studying at Vermont's renowned Adamant Music School. Dreams that she might become a concert pianist were crushed by the onset of tendonitis, but she continued to write songs while obtaining a masters degree in English, a medical degree from McMaster University, and at the same time publishing stories and writing plays, one of which was mounted at several Canadian theatres. She's a singer whose songs speak of beauty and pain, a pianist of depth shaped through years of rigorous classical study.
She focused on her school work and was a member of the literary honor society and glee club. She transferred to the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa and became the editor of the Rammer Jammer. During her junior year, Lee attended law school and was forced to leave her position as editor but she soon realized that her calling was writing and dropped out to move to New York City to pursue her dreams.
Danielle Boykin Duke Ellington is known as one of the greatest jazz composers ever lived. He was born Edward Kennedy Ellington in Washington D.C. in 1899. By the age of 17 was playing professionally. In 1923 he moved to New York City where he started recruiting people for his orchestra. He started off with an average jazz band of ten people but through the thirties and forties that number greatly expanded.
Her first album for the label, Blossom Dearie Sings, was followed by a two-record set entitled My New Celebrity Is You, which contained eight of her own compositions. The album's title song was especially written for her by Johnny Mercer, and is said to be the last piece he wrote before his death in 1976. During the 70s, Dearie performed at Carnegie Hall with former Count Basie blues singer Joe Williams and jazz vocalist Anita O'Day in a show called The Jazz Singers. In 1981 Blossom appeared with Dave Frishberg for three weeks at Michael's Pub in Manhattan. Frishberg, besides being a songwriter, also sang and played the piano, and Dearie frequently performed his songs, such as “Peel Me A Grape”, “I'm Hip” and “My Attorney Bernie”.
She began studying for her doctorate at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. She wanted more control over her music, so she opened her own production and publishing company. She also began producing and composing television and music scores. During this time, not fully focused on recording an album it was another two years until she came out with another album. In 1977 she released Blue Lights in the Basement, which was one of the top selling albums of the year.
Word Count: 1, 897 Musical Hardships Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Patti Smith and Bruce Springsteen are just a few of the famous musicians mentioned by Sarah Vowell in her book “Take the Cannoli: Stories from the New World.” Many of her essays mention music. Her love for certain musicians, the music she has received from past boyfriends and her lack of musical talent are just a small number of the times Vowell talks about music in her book. Sarah Vowell’s music choices are a bit more than out of the ordinary. The second essay of Vowell’s book is entitled “Music Lessons,” in it, is where she talks about how, as a young adult just starting seventh grade, Vowell was in marching band. “Music Lessons” tells about the accidental life lessons Vowell learns while being in marching band.
Her mom was a nurse trying to help the family. Edna’s mother encouraged her kids to be independent and appreciate books and music. When Edna was in high school, she was interested in theater. She performed many plays and even wrote a Halloween play that her classmates performed. When she was 20 she entered a poem called “Renascence” in a contest in which 100 poems were picked to be published.
She stayed in Warrensburg until her later years when her and her husband moved to Florida. Draper wrote children’s plays, along with children’s books. She got into playwriting because she loved to act. As a freshman in college at Central Missouri State College (now UCM), she won The Longman’s Green Prize for her one-act play, Holy Hour. Through college, Draper continued to write and act in plays.
Marian Anderson Buhmi Hello, my name is Marian Anderson and I was born in Philadelphia in 1897. I love to sing. My mother remembers when I use to walk and dance around the house singing, She stopped me one afternoon, while I was singing and told me, “Marion, you will one day become a great singer”. When I was 17, they wouldn’t let me go to music school because I was black and that made me practice more. I won a singing contest and I was on my way to New York and then I became famous.
I did well in high school and after one year at York, I have completed 29 credits and have a 3.47 G.P.A. I belong to the flying club and perform with York Jazz ensemble. Also, with the help of one of my music professors, I have organized a group of student musicians and we go to nursing homes in Queens to perform old favorite jazz numbers for the senior residents. Seeing the smiles and clapping and singing along by people who are my grandmother’s age makes me feel that I am really helping those people to have a better quality of life. I am a student who is proud to be at York and will continue to contribute to the quality of student life.