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NEC Summer School: College/Adult Courses
Music History
- America’s Music: How Did We Get Here?
- Contemporary Developments: Musical Currents of the 20th Century
- Speaking of Music: An Introduction
- An Introduction to Traditional Irish Music
America’s Music: How Did We Get Here? •
Fredericka King
June 12-July 17 (six meetings)
Th: 6:00–8:30 p.m.
A survey course introducing the rich and varied styles of America's music: Aaron Copland and the "American sound," George Gershwin's musicals and the concert stage, the ragtime of Scott Joplin and others, the marches of Sousa, the blues and its influence. Listening, videos, supplementary handouts.
1 SCE credit: $500
Non-credit: $355
• appropriate for adults with general music background
Contemporary Developments:
Musical Currents of the 20th Century
John Heiss
June 9 –July 2 (twelve meetings)
MTW: 6:00–8:30 p.m.
This course surveys the major musical currents of the 20th century, as embodied in the periods before World War II (Stravinsky, Ives, Schoenberg, Bartok) and post World War II (Messiaen, Ligeti, Berio, Tippet, Carter, Schuller and Harbison). The course will focus on listening and analysis, with background readings.
Prerequisite: Open to college and adult students by permission of the instructor (617-965-5865 mornings).
2 College UG/G credits: $2000/$4000
2 SCE credits or Non-credit: $1000
Speaking of Music: An Introduction •
Fredericka King
July 1-July 29 (five meetings)
Tu: 6:00 – 8:15 p.m.
Get acquainted with masterworks of music—from ancient Gregorian chant through the Baroque, Classical and Romantic eras, and dip into the intriguing trends of 20th-century composition! We will listen to opera, ballet and symphonic music, piano and chamber music. Designed for listeners new to classical music. Listening, videos, and supplementary handouts.
Non-credit: $355
• appropriate for adults with general music background
An Introduction to Traditional Irish Music •
Dr. Brett Abigaña
July 7 - 31 (eight meetings]
MTh: 6:30-8:00 p.m.
Boston has long been considered the center of Irish culture in America. Within the city and its neighboring communities, there are countless opportunities to hear traditional Irish music, from formal performances at Symphony Hall, to céilidhs at Boston College, and seisiúns at hundreds of Irish pubs in the area. This course will explore traditional Irish music and the various sub-genres one can hear in Boston performances, with a strong emphasis on listening; we will also examine the styles and histories of specific musicians and ensembles important in the Irish tradition. Topics include popular Irish performers in America (The Chieftains, Gaelic Storm, The Bothy Band, Davy Spillane, John Doherty, etc.); Irish songs (drinking songs, ballads, and rebel songs) and their singers (The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem, The Dubliners, Mary Black, Éire Óg, etc.), and the new trends and the many different directions of Irish folk music today. (Riverdance, the Wicked Tinkers, Molly's Revenge, Dropkick Murphy's, etc.) We will also discuss the main dance types heard in seisiúns in Boston, and demonstrate the fiddle, tin whistle, bodhran, and the uilleann pipes.
1 SCE credit: $500
Non-credit: $355
• appropriate for adults with general music background