Hey Kids, Meet the Composer | Famous Composer Biographies from MakingMusicFun.net

from the MMF Music Library



Learn about famous composers with a biography for kids highlighting the composer's composer's life, music and culture. Then check out our related resources for music students, private lesson teachers, elementary music classroom teachers and homeschooling teachers.


Famous Composer Biographies for Students, Music Teachers and Homeschool Teachers


Baroque Era Composers (1600-1750)

Hey Kids, Meet Johann Sebastian Bach | Biography
Hey Kids, Meet George Frideric Handel | Biography
Hey Kids, Meet Johann Pachelbel | Biography
Hey Kids, Meet Barbara Strozzi | Biography
Hey Kids, Meet Antonio Vivaldi | Biography


Classic Era Composers (1750-1820)

Hey Kids, Meet Ludwig van Beethoven | Biography
Hey Kids, Meet Franz Joseph Haydn | Biography
Hey Kids, Meet Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Biography


Romantic Era Composers (1820-1910)

Hey Kids, Meet Johannes Brahms | Biography
Hey Kids, Meet Cécile Chaminade | Biography
Hey Kids, Meet Frederic Chopin | Biography
Hey Kids, Meet Antonin Dvorak | Biography
Hey Kids, Meet Edvard Grieg | Biography
Hey Kids, Meet Modest Mussorgsky | Biography
Hey Kids, Meet Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov | Biography
Hey Kids, Meet Gioachino Antonio Rossini | Biography
Hey Kids, Meet Camille Saint-Saëns | Biography
Hey Kids, Meet Clara Schumann | Biography
Hey Kids, Meet Johann Strauss II | Biography
Hey Kids, Meet Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky | Biography
Hey Kids, Meet Richard Wagner | Biography


Impressionist Era Composers (1820-1910)

Hey Kids, Meet Claude Debussy | Biography
Hey Kids, Meet Lili Boulanger | Biography


Modern Era Composers (1910-Present)

Hey Kids, Meet Leonard Bernstein | Biography
Hey Kids, Meet Aaron Copland | Biography
Hey Kids, Meet Duke Ellington | Biography
Hey Kids, Meet George Gershwin | Biography
Hey Kids, Meet Scott Joplin | Biography
Hey Kids, Meet Dmitri Kabalevsky | Biography
Hey Kids, Meet Sergei Prokofiev | Biography
Hey Kids, Meet Dmitri Shostakovich | Biography
Hey Kids, Meet Andrew Lloyd Webber | Biography
Hey Kids, Meet John Williams | Biography




Browse Related Famous Composer Music Lesson Books, Music Theory Worksheets, and Music Lesson Plans


Free and Premium Sheet Music

Play the music of your favorite composer with our exclusive free and premium beginner and easy sheet music arrangements.

Sheet Music Index (Beginner and Easy)


Meet the Composer Popsicle Stick Theater Productions

Learn about your favorite composer with our animated popsicle stick theater productions. There's perfect for the general music classroom, homeschool lessons for just for fun!

Johann Sebastian Bach | Meet the Composer Video
Ludwig van Beethoven | Meet the Composer Video
Lili Boulanger | Meet the Composer Video
Johannes Brahms | Meet the Composer Video
Scott Joplin | Meet the Composer Video
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Meet the Composer Video
Antonio Vivaldi | Meet the Composer Video
Andrew Lloyd Webber | Meet the Composer Video
John Williams | Meet the Composer Video


Piano Books for Kids and Editions from our Play and Learn™ Series

Play the music of your favorite composer with one of these printable books or play the music of your favorite composer and learn more about them with our exclusive Play and Learn™ editions that include sheet music, a Hey Kids, Meet the Composer biography, and activity worksheets.

Beethoven | Meet the Composer Series Piano Book, Vol. 1
Mozart | Meet the Composer Series Piano Book, Vol. 2
Tchaikovsky | Meet the Composer Series Piano Book, Vol. 3
Bach | Meet the Composer Series Piano Book, Vol. 4
Strauss II | Meet the Composer Series Piano Book, Vol. 5
Canon in D (Pachelbel) | Easy Piano | Play and Learn™ Edition
Soda Fountain Rag (Duke Ellington) Play and Learn™ Edition
Cortège (Lili Boulanger) | Easy Piano Play and Learn™ Edition
Tarentelle (Cécile Chaminade) | Easy Piano Play and Learn™ Edition
Che si può fare (Barbara Strozzi) | Easy Piano Play and Learn™ Edition
The Entertainer (Joplin) | Easy Piano/Level 3 Play and Learn™ Edition
The Entertainer (Joplin) | Easy Piano/Level 5 Play and Learn™ Edition
Moonlight Sonata (Beethoven) | Easy Piano Play and Learn™ Edition
Ode to Joy (Beethoven) | Easy Piano/Level 2 Play and Learn™ Edition
Ode to Joy (Beethoven) | Easy Piano/Level 4 Play and Learn™ Edition
Rhapsody in Blue (George Gershwin) | Easy Piano Play and Learn™ Edition
Prelude in Bb Major (Clara Schumann) | Easy Piano Play and Learn™ Edition
Swan Lake (Tchaikovsky) | Easy Piano Play and Learn™ Edition
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy (Tchaikovsky) | Easy Piano Play and Learn™ Edition
Maple Leaf Rag (Joplin) | Easy Piano Play and Learn™ Edition
Easy Winners (Joplin) | Easy Piano Play and Learn™ Edition


Unlimited Mobile


Music Lesson Plans

Just click, print and teach! Our Meet the Composer music lesson plans make it easy to teach great composer units that are a hit with your students.

Star Wars Rap | Music Lesson Plan and Worksheet
Monster-Themed Music Lesson Plan Pack | Lesson Plans, Worksheets, and More
John Williams | Composer of the Month Lesson Bundle
Bach | Music Lesson Plan and Bulletin Board Bundle
Tchaikovsky | Composer of the Month Lesson Bundle
Peter and the Wolf (Prokofiev) | Comic Strip Worksheet and Lesson Plan
Peter and the Wolf (Prokofiev) | Music Lesson Pack
Hallelujah Chorus | Soprano Recorder Play-Along (Music/Mp3)
Haydn | Lesson Plan and Bulletin Board Bundle
Rossini | Lesson Plan and Bulletin Board Bundle
Wiliam Tell Overture (Rossini) | Music Lesson Plan and Listening Map
Carnival of the Animals (Saint-Saëns) | Popsicle Stick Puppets


Famous Music Composer Games

Print and play games that teach kids about our greatest music composers and make learning fun.

Beethoven at Bat™ | Music Composer Board Game (Digital Print)
Escape Room: Music Edition Board Game (Digital Print)


Listening Maps and Listening Glyphs

Designed for the music classroom, our printable listening maps and listening glyphs turn listening to music into a visual learning experience.

In the Hall of the Mountain King (Grieg) | Music Listening Map
Kangaroo from Carnival of the Animals (Saint-Saens) | Listening Map
Monster-Themed Music Lesson Plan Pack | Lesson Plans, Worksheets, and More
Surprise Symphony (Haydn) | Music Listening Map and Lesson
Trepak (Nutcracker) | Music Listening Map
Wiliam Tell Overture (Rossini) | Music Lesson Plan and Listening Map
Hallelujah Chorus (Handel) | Music Listening Map
Hallelujah Chorus (Handel) | Listening Map/Composer Pack (Bundle)
St. Patrick's Day | Music Listening Glyph Worksheets
John Williams | Film Score Music Listening Glyph Worksheets
Harry Potter (John Williams) | Music Listening Glyph Worksheets
Star Wars (John Williams) | Music Listening Glyph Worksheets
Jurassic Park (John Williams) | Music Listening Glyph Worksheets
Indiana Jones (John Williams) | Music Listening Glyph Worksheets
Easter (Vivaldi "Spring") | Music Listening Glyph Worksheets
Thanksgiving (Vivaldi "Autumn") | Music Listening Glyph Worksheets
Peter and the Wolf (Prokofiev) | Music Listening Glyph Worksheets
Circus Music (Entry of the Gladiators) | Music Listening Glyph Worksheets


Famous Composer Bulletin Board Posters

Our famous composer bulletin board poster packs add pizzazz to your music classroom bulletin boards, while helping kids remember the essential facts about each composer.

Beethoven | Composer of the Month Bulletin Board Pack
John Williams | Composer of the Month Bulletin Board Pack
Tchaikovsky | Bulletin Board Poster Pack
Elements of Music | Anchor Chart Posters
Haydn | Bulletin Board Poster Pack
Prokofiev | Bulletin Board Poster Pack
Rossini | Bulletin Board Poster Pack
Peter and the Wolf (Prokofiev) | Bulletin Board Poster Pack


Famous Composer FunLibs™ | Story and Worksheet

Read the original story of Peer Gynt or the Nutcracker and then make up a silly variation by substituting your own words in the blanks.

Peer Gynt FunLib™ (Edvard Grieg) | Story and Worksheet
Nutcracker FunLib™ (Tchaikovsky) | Story and Worksheet


Famous Composer Word Search Worksheets

Build reading skills with our free printable famous composer word search worksheets. Let your students know how many words there are to find, and then ask them to complete the word search by identifying and circling the keywords found in the biography.

Johann Sebastian Bach | Word Search Worksheet
Ludwig van Beethoven | Word Search Worksheet
Leonard Bernstein | Word Search Worksheet
Lili Boulanger | Word Search Worksheet
Johannes Brahms | Word Search Worksheet
Cécile Chaminade | Word Search Worksheet
Frederic Chopin | Word Search Worksheet
Aaron Copland | Word Search Worksheet
Claude Debussy | Word Search Worksheet
Antonin Dvorak | Word Search Worksheet
Duke Ellington | Word Search Worksheet
George Gershwin | Word Search Worksheet
Edvard Grieg | Word Search Worksheet
George Frideric Handel | Word Search Worksheet
Franz Joseph Haydn | Word Search Worksheet
Scott Joplin | Word Search Worksheet
Dmitri Kabalevsky | Word Search Worksheet
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Word Search Worksheet
Modest Mussorgsky | Word Search Worksheet
Johann Pachelbel | Word Search Worksheet
Sergei Prokofiev | Word Search Worksheet
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov | Word Search Worksheet
Gioachino Antonio Rossini | Word Search Worksheet
Camille Saint-Saëns | Word Search Worksheet
Clara Schumann | Word Search Worksheet
Dmitri Shostakovich | Word Search Worksheet
Johann Strauss II | Word Search Worksheet
Barbara Strozzi | Word Search Worksheet
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky | Word Search Worksheet
Antonio Vivaldi | Word Search Worksheet
John Williams | Word Search Worksheet


Famous Composer Multiplication-Connect-the-Dot Worksheets

Build pre-multiplication skills by skip counting with our free printable famous composer connect-the-dot worksheets. Then grab the crayons!

Johann Sebastian Bach | Worksheet
Ludwig van Beethoven | Worksheet
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Worksheet


Crossword Puzzles

Drill the facts in the Hey Kids, Meet the Composer biographies with our free composer crossword puzzles.

Johann Sebastian Bach | Crossword Puzzle Worksheet
Ludwig van Beethoven | Crossword Puzzle Worksheet
Johannes Brahms | Crossword Puzzle Worksheet
Scott Joplin | Crossword Puzzle Worksheet
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Crossword Puzzle Worksheet
Antonio Vivaldi | Crossword Puzzle Worksheet
John Williams | Crossword Puzzle Worksheet


Famous Composer Coloring Pages

Print a free famous composer coloring page, grab the crayons, and start the recording. Giving students a coloring page keeps them focused and quite, providing you with an opportunity to introduce the classics.

Johann Sebastian Bach | Coloring Page
Ludwig van Beethoven | Coloring Page
Lili Boulanger | Coloring Page
Johannes Brahms | Coloring Page
Cécile Chaminade | Coloring Page
Aaron Copland | Coloring Page
Duke Ellington | Coloring Page
George Frideric Handel | Coloring Page
Franz Joseph Haydn | Coloring Page
Scott Joplin | Coloring Page
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Coloring Page
Modest Mussorgsky | Coloring Page
Johann Pachelbel | Coloring Page
Gioachino Antonio Rossini | Coloring Page
Camille Saint-Saëns | Coloring Page
Franz Schubert | Coloring Page
Clara Schumann | Coloring Page
Johann Strauss II | Coloring Page
Barbara Strozzi | Coloring Page
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky | Coloring Page
Richard Wagner | Coloring Page
John Williams | Coloring Page


Famous Composer Scavenger Hunt Worksheet

Introduce kids to the great composers with a "Meet the Composer" Scavenger Hunt worksheet. Print the study guide worksheet and then head to the "Meet the Composer" biographies to hunt for the facts.

Famous Composer Scavenger Hunt Worksheet


Meet the Composer Job Application Worksheet

Introduce kids to the great composers by asking them to complete an employment application for the composer for your choice.

Meet the Composer Job Application Worksheet


Famous Composer Venn Diagrams

Develop higher order thinking skills in your music students by comparing and contrasting the musical elements your favorite music selections.

Nutcracker (Tchaikovsky) | Free Venn Diagram Worksheet
Peer Gynt (Edvard Grieg) | Free Venn Diagram Worksheet


Famous Composers | Who Get's the Prize for the Biggest Family?

Of all the famous composers who get's the prize for the biggest family? Is it Beethoven, Mozart, or Bach? Find out who by reading Famous Composers | Who Get's the Prize for the Biggest Family?

Famous Composers | Who Get's the Prize for the Biggest Family?