The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the A.M.E. Church, is a predominantly African American Methodist denomination based in the United States. It was founded by the Rev. Richard Allen in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1816 from several black Methodist congregations in the mid-Atlantic area that wanted independence from white Methodists. Allen was elected and consecrated its first bishop in 1816.

"God Our Father, Christ Our Redeemer, the Holy Spirit Our Comforter, Humankind Our Family"

Derived from Bishop Daniel Alexander Payne's original motto "God our Father, Christ our Redeemer, Man our Brother", which served as the AME Church motto until the 2008 General Conference, when the current motto was officially adopted.

The AME Church grew out of the Free African Society (FAS), which Richard Allen, Absalom Jones, and other free blacks established in Philadelphia in 1787. They left St. George's Methodist Episcopal Church because of discrimination. Although Allen and Jones were both accepted as preachers, they were limited to black congregations. In addition, the blacks were made to sit in a separate gallery built in the church when their portion of the congregation increased. These former members of St. George’s made plans to transform their mutual aid society into an African congregation. Although the group was originally non-denominational, eventually members wanted to affiliate with existing denominations.

Frédéric François Chopin ( /ˈʃoʊpæn/; French pronunciation: [fʁe.de.ʁik ʃɔ.pɛ̃]; Polish: Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin, also phonetically Szopen; 22 February or 1 March 1810 – 17 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of French-Polish parentage. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music. Chopin was born in Żelazowa Wola, a village in the Duchy of Warsaw. A renowned child-prodigy pianist and composer, Chopin grew up in Warsaw and completed his music education there; he composed many mature works in Warsaw before leaving Poland in 1830 at age 20, shortly before the November 1830 Uprising.

Following the Russian suppression of the Uprising, he settled in Paris as part of Poland's Great Emigration. During the remaining 19 years of his life, Chopin gave only some 30 public performances, preferring the more intimate atmosphere of the salon; he supported himself by sales of his compositions and as a piano teacher. After some romantic dalliances with Polish women, including an abortive engagement, from 1837 to 1847 he carried on a relationship with the French writer Amantine Dupin (pen name "George Sand"). For most of his life, Chopin suffered from poor health; he died in Paris in 1849 at age 39.

Agustin Anievas (born 11 June 1934; New York City) is an American pianist, specializing in the works of Frédéric Chopin, Franz Liszt and Sergei Rachmaninoff.

Anievas made his world professional debut in 1944, the first child to give a piano recital at the Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico City, and at 18 made his New York debut with the Little Orchestra Society. As a student of Eduard Steuermann and Adele Marcus at the Juilliard School, he earned his B.S. and M.S. in 1958. He was the winner of many competitions, including the Michaels Memorial Award, and the Concert Artists Guild in NY, which offered him a New York debut recital in 1958. Time Magazine commented that "he had the prodigious technique and the kind of rhapsodic, deeply felt musical vision that suggests a major career". As the grand prize winner in the first International Mitropoulos Competition for Pianists in 1961, he began his international career, playing in the cultural centers of Europe, South Americaa and Asia, in recital and with orchestras including London Philharmonic, New Philharmonia, BBC, the German radio orchestras, New York Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Mexico Symphony, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Brussels Philharmonic. EMI maintains a catalog of Anievas's performances and releases on their Forte Label.