DESCRIPTION:
Aaron Copland (1900-1990) was an American composer who wrote modern music.

Aaron Copland wrote many kinds of music. He wrote music for the orchestra, piano, and voice. He wrote music for plays, movies, and dance. Copland also was a conductor, pianist, speaker, teacher, and writer.

Music critics say Copland taught Americans about themselves through his music. He used parts of many old American folksongs in his work. He wanted to do this after studying music in France. He said that composers there had a very French way of writing music. He said Americans had nothing like that in this country. So he decided to compose music that was truly American.