One Day University: A Morning of Music

A Brief History of Jazz: America’s Greatest Original Art Form

Anna Celenza / Georgetown University

This lecture, designed for jazz fans and newcomers alike, celebrates America’s most distinctive music and its impact on global culture. Jazz is a genre broad in scope with the power to cross multiple borders: geographical, political, economic, racial, and religious. The key to jazz is its connection to recorded sound. It was the first musical genre shaped by modern technology – the first world-wide music phenomenon.

As Professor Celenza demonstrates in this multi-media lecture featuring film clips, dance steps, historic photos, and recordings, jazz has never stopped changing. From the Blues and Dixieland to Swing, BeBop, Cool Jazz, and Fusion, the genre offers something for everyone. If you’re one of those Kansas City residents who has always asked: “What’s all the fuss about?” when it comes to jazz, you’ll leave the lecture a die-hard fan – guaranteed!

Anna Celenza / Georgetown University 
Anna Celenza is the Thomas E. Caestecker Professor of Music at Georgetown University. She is the author of several books, including “Jazz Italian Style: From Its Origins in New Orleans to Fascist Italy and Sinatra.” In addition to her scholarly work, she has served as a writer/commentator for NPR’s Performance Today and published eight award-winning children’s books, among them “Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue” and “Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite.” She has been featured on nationally syndicated radio and TV programs, including the BBC’s “Music Matters” and C-Span’s “Book TV.”

Showstoppers: Memorable songs from Broadway (and beyond), and what makes them so great

Sean Hartley / Kaufman Music Center

What makes a song truly great? Timeless songs connect emotionally to millions of people and continue to do so over time. It’s almost impossible to avoid reacting when you hear a well written, great song. Great songs are memorable musically and/or lyrically they stick in listener’s minds. The rhyme scheme is solid with close or perfect rhymes. A great song will usually be relatable and relevant 25 years or 50 years after if was written. There may be exceptions, but a great song sticks around.

Sean Hartley / Kaufman Music Center 
Sean Hartley is the director at the Kaufman Music Center’s Theater Wing, the chair of the SMS Admissions Assessment Committee, and on the faculty of the SMS Chorus and LMS Dalcroze. He is the Producer/Host of Broadway Close Up as well as Broadway Playhouse. Sean is also a playwright, composer, and lyricist: Cupid And Psyche (Drama Desk nomination,) Little Women; Snow (ASCAP Harold Arlen Award.); Leaving Home. He is in residence at the Hermitage Artist Retreat in Sarasota.