ONLINE: From Gershwin to Van Cliburn and Liberace to Disney, classical music has taken many forms within mainstream pop culture throughout the decades. This course traces the rise and fall of classical music's many appearances in radio broadcasts, television programs, movies and variety shows by examining how and why classical music was once the cultural language of the United States. Students will gain in-depth historical knowledge about the ways in which the cultural history of America can be traced through the presence of classical music in popular culture. Guest speakers and interactive lectures will illuminate a different side of American history. Taught by a former North Carolina Symphony resident conductor who is now the music director of the Durham Symphony along with an OLLI faculty alumni and pop culture historian, this course will entertain students while educating them on the hidden history of a musical genre that captured a nation for decades. | Lecture + Q&A.
Max enrollment: 200.
