Stories Behind the Music: Catholicism and Classical Composers | Fall

The Catholic influence on Classical Music was particularly notable during the Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical periods of history. This course will explore Catholic composers and church patronage as students listen, discuss, and analyze a variety of music selections from these three time periods.

Taught not by a musician, rather by a lifetime history teacher, this course will uncover the fascinating stories and history behind the musicians and their compositions. Students do not need to have a background in music or know how to play an instrument. They will just need good “ears” and an open mind. Composers to be enjoyed include Palestrina, Byrd, Vivaldi, Haydn, Beethoven, Mozart, and many more.

This class will be rich and relaxed, with no outside homework other than listening to and responding to suggested musical pieces. Class participation will require attentiveness to the music. Discussion, analysis, and enjoyment can be expected!

Required Materials:
Books and supplies are not included in the purchase of the course.

Materials will be provided by the instructor.

Claudie Thompson

Claudie Thompson is an experienced and awarded teacher of 34 years. With a B.S. in Special Education and endorsements in History and Physical Education, Mr. Thompson has taught World History, United States History, Government and Economics, New Mexico History, and Special Education. Utilizing primary source readings and great books to encourage student thought and growth, Claudie has also integrated a detailed study of Dante into his honors world history curriculum.
Mr. Thompson guided the National History Day class, which qualified students in the top ten at the national competition. He has received several educational awards, including LULAC Educator of the Year, New Mexico Public Education Department Recognition of Excellence, New Mexico School Boards Association Excellence in Student Achievement Award, National Maritime Historical Society Teacher of Distinction Award, Santa Fe Trail Association Educator Award, and National History Day New Mexico Teacher of the Year award twice.
In addition, Mr. Thompson has sponsored many extra-curricular and co-curricular activities, and coached several sports, including basketball, football, and baseball, and is an inductee of the New Mexico High School Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame.
As a lifelong learner, Claudie has continued to learn, adapt, implement, and grow. He has three children. His hobbies are reading, fishing, exercising, sports, a lot of family time, and enjoying daily mass. He lives in Southern New Mexico and follows a simple motto: Do Simple Best.

Computer: You will need a stable, reliable computer, running with a processor with a speed of 1 GHz or better on one of the following operating systems: Mac OS X with Mac OS 10.7 or later; Windows 8, 7, Vista (with SP1 or later), or XP (with SP3 or later). We do not recommend using an iPad or other tablet for joining classes. An inexpensive laptop or netbook would be much better solutions, as they enable you to plug an Ethernet cable directly into your computer. Please note that Chromebooks are allowed but not preferred, as they do not support certain features of the Zoom video conference software such as breakout sessions and annotation, which may be used by our teachers for class activities.

High-Speed Internet Connection: You will also need access to high-speed Internet, preferably accessible via Ethernet cable right into your computer. Using Wi-Fi may work, but will not guarantee you the optimal use of your bandwidth. The faster your Internet, the better. We recommend using a connection with a download/upload speed of 5/1 Mbps or better. You can test your Internet connection here.

Webcam: You may use an external webcam or one that is built in to the computer. Webcam Recommendations: Good (PC only) | Best (Mac and PC)

Headset: We recommend using a headset rather than a built-in microphone and speakers. Using a headset reduces the level of background noise heard by the entire class. Headset Recommendations: USB | 3.5mm

Zoom: We use a web conferencing software called Zoom for our classes, which enables students and teachers to gather from around the globe face to face in real time. Zoom is free to download and easy to use. To download Zoom:

Visit zoom.us/download.
Click to download the first option listed, Zoom Client for Meetings.
Open and run the installer on your computer.
In August, students will be provided with instructions and a link for joining their particular class.

Scanner: In this class, students frequently submit homework assignments by scanning pages from their workbooks. Students and/or their parents should have easy access to a scanner and the ability to use it.

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