Kirby and I are always trying to remind students to consider the context of the piece they’re playing – Who wrote it?  When did they write it?  Where did they write it?  What was going on in their lives and in the world when they wrote it?  Being aware of these things can help us play a piece more accurately the way a composer intended it to be played.  Every musical era (Medieval, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Modern, etc.) has it’s musical characteristics, and every composer within those eras has his or her “calling card,” – their unique signature that identifies a piece as theres.  These unique characteristics are presented wonderfully in these improvisations in the style of famous classical composers on a simple theme – Mary Had a Little Lamb.  Take a listen!