Composer of the Month

Mr. Gerritt VanOtterloo’s “Composer of the Month” is a smash hit with his 7th/8th grade students. Each month, Mr. V walks students through a specific composer—who they are, their background, famous works etc. A recent feature was the French composer Camille Saint-Saëns, known most famously for his work “The Swan” wherein the role of the swan is played by a cello, and the piano accompanies as the water. “That is a romantic era idea—that you can take music and make it sound like [...] you can feel the water with the swan [as the piano surrounds the cello].”

Mr. V doesn’t just give background information on the composer of the month, but fun facts as well. Camille Saint-Saëns had perfect pitch! “Perfect pitch is that thing where I can play a note, and you don’t know what note it is, and you know what note it is,” Mr. V. laughed. After walking students through the composer of the month, Mr. V has them listen to one of that composer’s songs. Students listened to Yo-Yo Ma and Kathryn Stott’s performance of “The Swan.” All students clapped and cheered at the end.

Mr. V doesn’t just want students to learn how to play an instrument—he wants students to be inspired by those who came before. The “Composer of the Month” is just one way in which Mr. V is fostering a love for music in our community and showing students that they too can make a difference.