Library Guides: Music Research: How to Find Composer Biographies

Learn Facts & Background Info on Your Composer

Search your composer's name in Credo Reference and Grove Music Online.

Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
Ebook reference titles emphasizing all key disciplines; includes images, encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases, and handbooks.
How to run a Basic search on Credo
How to use the Mind Map on Credo
Oxford Music Online This link opens in a new window
The gateway to opens new windowGrove Music Online.
Full-text articles on composers, performers, conductors, instruments, forms and genres, individual works; allows cross-searching across multiple music reference resources. Sources include Oxford Companion to Music, Oxford Dictionary of Music, Encyclopedia of Popular Music.
Note: maximum of 3 simultaneous users
More database information from Oxford
Grove Music Online User's Manual

Search for Books & Ebooks

Catalog This link opens in a new window
ORU's online listing of books, ebooks, audiobooks, reference materials, faculty reserves, special collections, subscription journal titles, etc. to which ORU users have access. Entries contain bibliographic information about each entry on the Sierra system.
Search tips(Also, other tabs offer information regarding how to: navigate the catalog, renew books, perform other searches)

To find books, in the library catalog, try the types of searches listed below.

Subject Search: Composer's name

Keyword Search: composer's name AND biography

Search for Articles

Search the composer's name along with keywords (influence, family life, biography, tradition, culture, society. personal experience, musical style, music impact, etc). Refine your results to the assignment requirements (peer reviewed, date, etc.)

Remember to cite all your resources.

Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
A scholarly multi-disciplinary full-text database with book reviews, images, and some books with full-text. Areas covered include biology, chemistry, mathematics, multicultural studies, sciences, psychology, religion and theology, women's studies and more.
More database information from EBSCO.
Basic Searching Tutorial on EBSCOhost.
Advanced Searching Tutorial on EBSCOhost.
Historical Abstracts with Full Text This link opens in a new window
Covers the history of the world (excluding the United States and Canada) from 1450 to the present and includes scholarship in archaeology, anthropology, sociology, world history, military history, women's history.
More database information from EBSCO.
Humanities International Complete This link opens in a new window
Full-text content covering all aspects of humanities including articles, interviews, book reviews, reviews of ballets, dance programs, motion pictures, musicals, operas, plays, etc.
More database information from EBSCO.

Search Examples:

Dvorak AND composer
Chopin AND biography AND composer
Bach AND (influence OR inspiration) AND composer
PE "stravinsky, igor, 1882-1971"
ZP "dvorak, antonin, 1841-1904"