Composer of the Month: Camille Saint-Saens

Our composer for March is Camille Saint-Saens! Composer Camille Saint-Saëns was born on October 9, 1835, in Paris, France. He began learning the piano at age two, and composed his first piece of music for piano at age three! Because of his early talent, he was often compared to Mozart as a youth and declared as a child prodigy. He gave his first formal recital as a child in 1846. He studied organ at the Paris Conservatory and played for the Church of the Madeline in Paris for 20 years. He was once called by one of the most famous pianists in the world, Franz Liszt, "the greatest organist in the world" for his organ playing at the Church of the Madeline. He helped found the National Society of Music in 1871. He is best known for his opera Samson et Dalila, his chamber work Carnival of Animals, and his symphonic poems. He died on December 16, 1921. To study our composer of the month, second grade will be listening to and writing about Carnival of the Animals in their own listening journal that they will get to take home at the end of the month!