Georg Philipp Telemann
Georg Telemann was born to a Protestant minister in Magdeburg, Brandenburg on March 14, 1681. During his childhood, he gained a great education, but not in music. He self-taught his early musical knowledge. He was able to gain great composing skills and play a diverse amount of instruments (violin, recorder, oboe, viola da gamba, and clavier).
In 1701, Telemann went to study law at the University of Leipzig. However, this is when his music career took off. He became the assistant to the organist of the Thomaskirche by composing for the church. Additionally, he provided public concerts by reorganizing the student musical society.
Telemann died in Hamburg on June 25, 1767. He is remembered for his large amounts of compositions for churches, orchestras, and amateur and professional musicians. Another big contribution was how he brought music to the public through public concerts.