The Latin phrase Gradus ad Parnassum means "Steps to Parnassus". It is sometimes shortened to Gradus. The name Parnassus was used to denote the loftiest part of a mountain range in central Greece, a few miles north of Delphi, of which the two summits, in Classical times, were called Tithorea and Lycoreia. In Greek mythology, one of the peaks was sacred to Apollo and the nine Muses, the inspiring deities of the arts, and the other to Bacchus. The phrase has often been used to refer to various books of instruction, or guides, in which gradual progress in literature, language instruction, music, or the arts in general, is sought.

The first application of the phrase is to a kind of Latin or Greek dictionary, in which the quantities of the vowels are marked in the words, to help beginners to understand the principles of Latin verse composition, in relation to the values of the metrical feet. The first 'step' or lesson is contained in the title phrase itself, because 'gradus' being a fourth-declension noun (a step), with a short '-us' in the singular (forming a metrical trochee), becomes 'gradūs', with a lengthened '-ūs', in the plural (steps) - forming a metrical spondee. The difference in meaning teaches one to observe the difference in vowel quantity between two forms which look the same but have different grammatical properties, and so to pronounce the title of the dictionary correctly. Then 'Parnassus' is a poetic figure alluding to the Muse (of poetry): and the second function of the Thesaurus is even so, to illustrate such figures. Therefore the whole expression Gradus ad Parnassum is not just a title but an epitome of the work itelf, combining declension, construction, scansion and figure.

Claude-Achille Debussy (French pronunciation: [klod aʃil dəbysi]) (22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions. In France, he was made Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1903. A crucial figure in the transition to the modern era in Western music, he remains one of the most famous and influential of all composers.

His music is noted for its sensory component and for not often forming around one key or pitch. Often Debussy's work reflected the activities or turbulence in his own life. In French literary circles, the style of this period was known as symbolism, a movement that directly inspired Debussy both as a composer and as an active cultural participant.

Emily Bear (born August 30, 2001) is a pianist and composer from Rockford, Illinois.

When Bear was two years old, her grandmother recognized her talent at the piano. She began to study with Emilio del Rosario at the Music Institute of Chicago. Within four years, she was enrolled at the Winnetka campus to study classical music. Bear started to compose music at the age of three. By the age of eight, she had composed more than 350 pieces. For her piece Northern Lights, she won the ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Award for composers under 18 years of age. She also won the Rockford Area Music Industry Award (RAMI).

Bear has made six appearances on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, played at the White House for President George W. Bush when she was 6, and performed Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 with the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra.

Source: Emily Bear's Official homepage