If your holiday traditions include Christmas presents, consider this a warning – you’ve only got a few more days to get your shopping done! Don’t delay; the traffic only gets worse and you’re more likely to make a bad decision if you shop at the last minute.

Here’s the March of the Toys to get you moving. It began as part of an operetta by Victor Herbert, which was later adapted into a Disney film. The music has been a staple for the holidays ever since! It might provide the inspiration you need to find those last few presents.

And, if you’re going to have a holiday piece stuck in your head while you shop, it may as well be this one.

Need I say more?

John Williams is easily the most-performed living composer. In Art Music circles, you may see people turning their noses up at his music. Ignore those people. They are just jealous that there is an Art Music composer out there who is actually getting some attention. The truth of the matter is, you can’t get to where John Williams is without being awesome. So here’s the most popular and influential composer of our time, and his glorious music!

And here’s to the most popular and influential epic of our time!

December 17 is a day that I get to mentally relive one of my favorite high school memories – Saturnalia! For those of us in Latin Club, this was a day of great celebration. We were excused from class, and would walk around the school shouting “Io Saturnalia!” while pelting underclassmen with candy. It was a day of great learning for all.

Gustav Holst’s most famous piece is undoubtedly The Planets, a multi-movement work  which, despite the name, is more astrological than astronomical (think horoscopes or Roman gods). It’s a funny case of the large work titled after heavenly bodies, while the individual movements, like “Saturn – The Bringer of Old Age” bear mythological subtitles.

The music doesn’t tell a specific story, but instead paints a marvelous picture of gods, goddesses, and giant spheres of matter orbiting the sun. The work has practically defined what music about outer space should sound like, and its influence can be heard in any sci-fi or space themed movie.