Music Series Teaches Ankeny Residents About Master Composers

When Jennifer Abbott decided to home school her children, she knew it would be important to find opportunities for her kids to learn outside the home.

Hearing about the Masterpieces of Music series at the  was exactly what Abbott sought to broaden her kids' studies.

“I feel like I’m always learning something new about a different composer,” Abbott said.

The program, which has been part of the library’s offerings for the past two years, has shifted to focus on American composers this year. Joan Jamison, who directs the series, said the change puts the program in line with the Des Moines Symphony, which is featuring American composers this season. 

The featured composer this week was Irving Berlin, perhaps one of the best known of all American composers. Jamison said she’s always had a soft spot in her heart for Berlin’s first major hit, "Alexander’s Ragtime Band," and she was excited to have a chance to expose a younger audience to Berlin’s work.

“He’s done so much it’s very easy to find a lot about him,” Jamison said.

Berlin, who wrote over 1,500 songs in his lifetime, never learned to read music. Rather, he employed a music secretary to help him transcribe the tunes in his head onto sheet music. The prolific composer, who wrote songs like "White Christmas," "God Bless America," and "Easter Parade," also wrote the music for at least 19 Broadway shows before dying in 1989 at the age of 101.

Jamison, an Ankeny resident who taught music in the Des Moines school system, as well at , has been part of the program since its inception two years ago.

“I really enjoy having the young home-school students come,” Jamison said. “They thought this was good for their program, and it’s just a good way for them to see what’s happening.”

During the program Jamison always tries to show a video that gives attendees a glimpse of what life was like for the featured composer, as well as highlighting some of the books about the composer that are available in the library. Ever the former teacher, Jamison said she always hopes to spark more interest in music, particularly classical, one of her favorites.

“I always try to embellish a little bit with what’s available here and whatever else I can find about the composers,” Jamison said.

For Abbott and the rest of the home-school mothers, the program represents a great opportunity to get their kids exposed to musical education. Abbott’s children study a different composer every month, and the Masterpieces of Music series never fails to pique her children’s interest.

“They study the piano, so after we’ve been here, they can say ‘Oh, I want to play that song',” Abbott said.