Without Beethovenâs Fur Elise, we never would have had Nasâs âI Can.â Billy Joel used Beethovenâs Pathetique in his song âThis Night.â Ludacris has sampled from Mozartâs Requiem and Dvorakâs New World Symphony. Janet Jacksonâs cribbed from Erik Satie.
While we donât typically think about it, the modern music we listen to, play and compose often has roots in classical music.
Which is why it shouldnât come as a surprise that some modern pop, hip-hop and R&B performers are classically trained. Take for example Princeton Miles. For two years, he served as a MusicLab intern here at Houston Public Media while majoring in vocal performance at the University of Houstonâs Moores School of Music, where his primary training was classical.
But as he tells Houston Public Mediaâs St. John Flynn â heâs melded his classical training with his love for R&B and hip-hop, in recording his first EP, called âHear Me.â
