This seminar will explore Chicago’s riches in the realm of public art, including murals, commemorative statues, architectural sculpture, commercial decorations, and park designs, through a series of walking tours. We will pay special attention to the role of public art in shaping the civic, national, and ethnic identities of its audiences, and consider the role of public art in promoting...
Upcoming Arts, Music, and Language Seminars
This list is of upcoming seminars only. Since most seminars meet more than once in a term, if a class has already met at least once, it will no longer show up on this list.
Starting:
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Public Art and Public Life in Chicago
Tuesdays, June 4 – August 6
Led by Diane Dillon
Starting:
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
The French Correction: A Relaxed Approach to Le français
Tuesdays, June 4 – August 6
Led by Susan Pezzino
Would you like to try a laid-back and enjoyable way to start studying French or to improve your French pronunciation? This course, intended for students at any level of proficiency, provides a positive classroom atmosphere and the vocabulary of fine food and wine to help you decode the French spelling system and pronounce French more easily and accurately.
Susan Pezzino, a lifetime...
Starting:
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
200 Years of Chamber Music
Wednesdays, June 5 – August 7
Led by Stephen Kleiman
It has been said that chamber music is the most intimate form of musical expression for the composer, the performer, and the listener. We will tap into that intimacy and explore the reasons why composers poured their souls into these pieces. We will study the different shapes and forms chamber music takes in the hands of some of our greatest composers, including Beethoven, Mozart, Brahms,...
Starting:
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Chicago's Musical Heritage, 1830-1920
Thursdays, June 6 – August 1 (class will not meet July 4)
Led by Guy A. Marco
This is the first of two seminars examining the people, organizations, and events of music in Chicago. The story begins before the city was incorporated in 1837, with dance music heard in local taverns, and will move to popular songs and minstrel shows. We will consider opera, which began in the 1880s, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, which gave its first concerts in 1891. At the turn of...
Starting:
Thursday, June 6, 2013
The Anatomy of Music: Basic (and Not So Basic) Music Theory for Everyone
Thursdays, June 6 – August 15 (class will not meet July 4)
Led by Stephen Kleiman
In this class, musical questions you have always wanted to ask will be answered. A witty textbook and entertaining exercises will guide us from basic concepts to more complex elements of music, including the instruments of standard ensembles like the string quartet and the symphony orchestra. This class is designed for music enthusiasts rather than musicologists.
Stephen Kleiman holds...
Starting:
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Vocal Music of the Renaissance and Baroque
Saturdays, June 8 – July 27
Led by Brian Oberlander
We will examine the rich variety of vocal music that flourished in early modern Europe, from the choral masterpieces of Renaissance Catholicism to the passionate arias of Baroque opera. Through guided listening and group discussion, participants will become familiar not only with the style and aesthetics of the music itself, but also with those historical events, social conditions, and...
Starting:
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Symphonic Tune-Up: The Listener’s Guide to the Symphony
Tuesdays, June 11 – July 30
Led by Stephanie Ettelson
This course is “Music 101” for the novice listener and a great vocabulary refresher for the inveterate concertgoer. The three “B’s” —Bach, Beethoven and Brahms—will play prominent roles, as will Haydn and Mozart, the masters who established the prototype for the classical genres we know as the symphony and the concerto. Historical background will establish context for the progression through...
Starting:
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Saturdays, June 22 – July 27
This class is full and registration is closed.
Japanese Bookbinding
Led by Barbara Korbel
Explore the craft of Japanese bookbinding. Radically different in methodology and materials from their European counterparts, traditional Japanese bindings focus almost exclusively on paper, thread, and paste to create a variety of structures. This class will introduce those materials and techniques. Participants will view two films documenting the production of washi, inks, and...