My History of Music II course was taught by my faculty advisor and saxophone teacher, Dr. Charles Kinzer. This course is a continuation of History of Music I, but I had not taken that course yet so I felt like I entered this course slightly blindsided. Thankfully, I was able to come in without any trouble. In this course we analyzed the lives of famous composers while taking into consideration the historical contexts of the time period. We also related each composer’s style to the overall style of the time period. We studied famous compositions, watched performances, and even had the chance to give our own lecture on a famous composer after researching and learning more about their life. The course enriched my knowledge of music history and allowed me opportunities to connect the information to other areas in my music degree, such as music theory and my private saxophone studies.

I chose to enhance this course for my Honors credit. Dr. Kinzer had already given me Bernhard Heiden’s Saxophone Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano to learn for my lessons, so when we began discussing how I could enhance his history course, it was clear that I should study the life and work of Bernhard Heiden to gain more insight into his compositional style, specifically relating to his sonata for saxophone. This fulfilled my honors requirement, while also enriching my knowledge of the piece I was having to perform. Analyzing and studying the various conventions of Heiden’s style allowed me to perform his piece in a more informed way. Working alongside Dr. Kinzer closely was such an awesome experience; he is extremely knowledgeable and pushed me to present my very best work. His guidance was crucial to my success in this course and my enhancement. This project was a lot of work; I had to study, analyze, research, and compile information, but I also had to learn, practice, and study the music on my instrument. This project was incredibly valuable because I learned many critical skills that I can apply throughout my time in the music education program at Longwood as well as in my future career.

Bernhard Heiden’s Saxophone Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano

Tyler Cosley, April 7th, 2021