Out of Egypt:

when you think of great American composers, who comes to mind?

Aaron Copland? John Phillip Sousa? Charles Ives?

Me, I'm thinking William Billings. I've got to give Lowell Mason credit for "Joy to the World," but I can't forgive him and his peers for pushing a vital tradition of American music to the margins. (Make sure to scroll to the bottom of the page for samples of Billings' work.)