1. PBS (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/education/tchaikovsky.html). This page offers a biography of Tchaikovsky. This biography goes in depth into both his career and personal life.
2. NPR (http://www.npr.org/artists/90515326/peter-ilyich-tchaikovsky). NPR offers a variety of recordings, interviews, and concert dates for Tchaikovsky's compositions.
3. Youtube of recording (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQWG6P46xv0&playnext=1&list=PLFD05046EA54FC8F2&feature=results_video). This is a video of Waltz of the Flowers from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite.
I chose classical composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky because I find that his music has an ability to transcend mediums of art. Tchaikovsky composed the score for three very famous ballets: Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker. Growing up a dancer, I was enamored by these performances, and was fortunate enough to see all three. Now, when I listen solely to the "soundtrack" of these ballets, I not only find an appreciation for the music itself, but can hold in mind the physical portrayal of emotion I saw in the ballets. It is this very sentiment that drove me to choose Tchaikovsky, a composer who's vision I see as having the strength and rare talent to encompass many forms of art with his work.
-Catherine Gelband