This activity will involve three events: “The Music of World War II”; “The Music of Cole Porter,” and “Fred Astaire and the Hollywood Dance Musical.” Each presentation—of about forty-five minutes—will involve a musical PowerPoint consisting of extensive musical excerpts and film clips, vintage sheet music, album covers and photographs. The presentations will be followed by Q & A and/or discussion.

The purpose of each presentation is to demonstrate how the American Popular Song both reflected and shaped the evolution of American culture and values in the first half of the 20th century. A secondary purpose is to illustrate how different musical genres—vaudeville, film, Tin Pan Alley—reflected (and affected) different segments of American culture. These will be melody filled events.

The events will be held three consecutive Tuesday evenings (February 9, 16 and 23) at Benson Memorial Library, four blocks from the University of Pittsburgh-Titusville campus. The events will appeal both to the campus community, augmenting the campus’s History of Jazz course, and to the community at large. The primary presenter for these events will be Dr. Phillip Atteberry, who has done similar events for many years at the Chautauqua Institute and for the Pennsylvania Humanities Council.

This event is also sponsored by the Benson Memorial Library and the Liberal Arts Department at the University of Pittsburgh-Titusville. For more information, contact Mary Ann Caton at caton@pitt.edu.