On a frigid day in February, music by Amy Beach, Ethel Smyth, and Luise Adolpha Le Beau brought us comfort and warmth.

Just because the school year is right around the corner doesn’t mean that you have to stop playing (or writing) music. As proof, here are 16 pieces from composers written when they were still students!

Though the music of your favorite composers might make you smile, chances are, the composers themselves aren’t smiling in their portraits. Until now…

Can you imagine a world without the music of Handel, Tchaikovsky, or Britten? These great composers of the past are just a few of many important musical figures who did not identify as heterosexual. Check out this list of 15 composers, some of whom are still living, and let us know who your favorite queer composers are in the comments …