Music Culture

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Make Your Next Concert Pop! J.W. Pepper’s Latest Pop Picks for Upcoming Concerts  Some of the coolest new arrangements for concert band, string orchestra, and choir are coming directly from…

Lin-Manuel Miranda and Disney have created their latest sensation that excites kids and adults with its catchy tunes. Like Frozen, Disney has gone above and beyond children’s animation to bring…

Are you a West Side Story fanatic looking to expand your musical palette? Have you wanted to explore other musicals but don’t know where to start? We break down the…

The Philadelphia Youth Orchestra Music Institute was founded in 1939 by a middle school music teacher and has grown to include six divisions: Philadelphia Youth Orchestra, Philadelphia Young Artists Orchestra,…

In the United States, the Fourth of July often is associated with trips to the pool, good food, and fireworks. But it isn’t the only day during the warmer months…

For centuries, scientists and the public alike have tried to determine if talent genetically runs in families when it comes to music. There are certainly many cases where that has…

For the past two years, Pepper has been following the painstaking construction of a harpsichord for Mount Vernon that is a replica of the Washington family’s original instrument. The project…

Family and friends are great, but when you really boil it down, the star of Thanksgiving is the food – oh, and maybe the music. It’s well known that music…

Some of the most well-known songs you may hear during trick-or-treating time were written in a flash but have endured for many, many years. Inspired by monsters or general silliness,…

It’s said the first thing Fred Rogers did when he returned home from emergency surgery for stomach cancer was go straight to his piano. His wife Joanne has shared with…

Before the internet, shopping from catalogs was how business was done, and the music industry is no exception. Catalogs have been used to sell everything from seeds to chickens to…

It was over 140 years ago that James Welsh Pepper first started the company that still carries his name. Setting up shop in 1876, he saw great potential in the…

Patriotic music speaks to what it means to be part of this country and the shared experiences of its citizenry. It speaks directly to our hearts, especially during this time…

The idea for Memorial Day stemmed from one of the most trying times in the history of the United States. During the Civil War so many lives were lost that…

Since 2001, April has been recognized as Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM). Certainly one of the best ways to learn about jazz and explore its history is to do it in…

Updated February 17, 2023 Trombonist Amanda Stewart compares it to a slow-moving glacier – the gradual acceptance of talented women playing brass instruments in the United States’ most renowned orchestras….

March 13th marked the 62nd birthday of late composer and musical pioneer Moses Hogan. He is considered a pioneer of the modern spiritual, bringing the heart and soul of these…

July 2020 Update: Eric Whitacre’s latest project – Virtual Choir 6  – is now available online and you can view the sheet music for Sing Gently here. The article below…

In February, we celebrate past presidents and their contributions to our national identity. The legacies of our past leaders are played out in history books and written into law, but…

Updated January 2020 The idea for Black History Month was developed during a difficult time for African Americans in the United States. In 1926, segregation and racial violence against the…