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Category: "Music and Performing Arts"

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Political Humor: A Look Back in Anger Mixed with Mirth

Joseph Dorinson, Brooklyn
Can Tina Fey impede the political ascent of Sarah Palin? Did H.L. Mencken destroy the reputation of Presidents Harding and Coolidge? How did comedians in America contribute to Nixon's resignation? For answers to these and other knotty questions, stay tuned.

Pink Elephants and Black Holes

Curtis Finney, Syracuse
Looking back and forward at how black composers, performers, and teachers have been, and are, involved in classical music.

American-Jewish Music & African-American Music: Shared Visions and Dreams

Robert L. Cohen, Fresh Meadows
Consider cross-fertilization and mutual inspiration between American-Jewish and African-American music: We listen in on the ongoing musical conversation between blacks and Jews.

Klezmer Music: From Old World to New World to Our World

Robert L. Cohen, Fresh Meadows
A musical journey through American and worldwide klezmer music - from the traditional style and repertoire to eclectic contemporary fusions with diverse American and world musical styles.

"Oh What a Charming City": New York City in Folk and Popular Song

Robert L. Cohen, Fresh Meadows
Take a musical guided tour in song of life and love in New York City, from the 18th century to today.

"They All Sang on the Corner": The Roots of "Doo-Wop" Rock 'n' Roll

Robert L. Cohen, Fresh Meadows
Explore the roots of street-corner group harmony singing ("doo-wop"), and hear how this music - from all five New York City boroughs - conveyed the poetry of inner-city life.

Almost Forgotten U.S. Female Playwrights 1770-1860

Stanley A. Waren, New York
In the nation's early decades, a woman choosing a life in the theatre faced near-total loss of social acceptance and respect. Rediscover the American women playwrights who fought moral condemnation, societal ostracism, and male contempt to live the theatrical life.

Johann Sebastian Bach: Portrait of a Musician from the Baroque

Suzanne Forsberg, New York
A portrait of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) is illustrated with slides and CDs. The Baroque society in which he lived influenced the compositions he wrote for the courts of Weimar and Cothen, and the city of Leipzig.

Celebrating the Manteo Sicilian Marionette Tradition in New York

Tony De Nonno, Brooklyn
Experience the legacy of puppeteers Mike and Aida Manteo, their children and grandchildren, a family bound together by a Sicilian folk tradition that spans a century in New York. On stage, Orlando woos Angelica in the court of Charlemagne, as the entire family works together to entertain audiences across America.

Beethoven: Promethean Giant

Miltiades A. Matthias, New York
Beethoven opened the floodgates of Romanticism, creating works of nobility and grandeur that, once heard, become part of one's soul.

Romance and the Romantics: The Liaison of Mme. George Sand and M. Frederic Chopin

Ruth Albert Spencer, New York
This 19th century romance encompasses music, French literature and women's roles in European society. The presentation includes slides showing where the couple lived, and the music of Chopin (where a piano is available).

Songs and Stories for the Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial

Stanley Ransom, Plattsburgh
Award-winning folk musician Stan Ransom presents folk songs, historical songs, and stories of the Champlain Basin, which reflect the past 400 years of history in the Champlain Valley region.

Spectacles of Religiosity: Sacred Theater in Peru

Wilma Feliciano, New Paltz
Peru celebrates its history in dance-dramas and festivals that combine native spirituality with Catholic icons. These performances explore the endurance of mestizo identity amidst mass culture and globalization.

Felix Mendelssohn: His Life in Music and Words

Ruth Albert Spencer, New York
Felix Mendelssohn descended from a family of intellectualism, religion, wealth and social position unsurpassed by other composers. With live music and readings from letters and journals, we explore how this shaped the life and work of one of music's all-time prodigies and geniuses.

19th Century Circus: Sex, Violence and Politics

David Carlyon, Larchmont
When did circus change from raw adult fare to innocent family entertainment? A historian. and ex-Ringling Brothers clown investigates the reasons.

History of Music in Buffalo

Raya Lee, Williamsville
From the first music store to the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, the city’s musical heritage at its best is highlighted.

Erie Canal: Glitz & Glory

Raya Lee, Williamsville
With fireworks and fury, music and mayhem, the Erie Canal transformed villages into cities and New York into the Empire State.

Buffalo's Grand Celebration: The 1901 Pan-American Exposition

Raya Lee, Williamsville
Buffalo hosted the Pan-American Exposition from May to November of 1901. The fair showed off the cutting edge of progress and technology -- as well as music, art, gondola tours, and a wild midway. But the fair would be remembered more for an American political tragedy than for its display of American pride.

Development of Ethnic Music in the Champlain Valley

Stanley Ransom, Plattsburgh
Folksinger Stan Ransom brings alive the diverse music of the Champlain Valley, a heritage that comes from 400 years of mixing Native American, French, English, Irish and other musical heritages.

Foods, Celebrations, and Folklore of the Champlain Basin

Stanley Ransom, Plattsburgh
Take a trip through the land of poutine, pizza, and cider; county fairs and ice fishing; and other celebrations, foods, and folklore that have bridged cultural divides in the Champlain Basin for four centuries, while creating a unique regional heritage.

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