Jill Goldberg will offer an introduction to Indigenous literature and the history of contact between First Nations and settlers in a Canadian context. Through a discussion of readings from the anthology Read, Listen, Tell: Indigenous Stories from Turtle Island, we will explore topics including storytelling as a means of learning, the meaning of Land and language, as well as the ongoing impacts of residential schooling and other colonial policies and how these persist in the post-TRC era. If possible, we will be joined by 1-2 guest speakers.

Jill Goldberg will offer an introduction to Indigenous literature and the history of contact between First Nations and settlers in a Canadian context. Through a discussion of readings from the anthology Read, Listen, Tell: Indigenous Stories from Turtle Island, we will explore topics including storytelling as a means of learning, the meaning of Land and language, as well as the ongoing impacts of residential schooling and other colonial policies and how these persist in the post-TRC era. If possible, we will be joined by 1-2 guest speakers.

Toph Marshall, Artistic Director of United Players of Vancouver and Professor of Greek at UBC, talks about his forthcoming production of an ancient Roman comedy from 190 BC, Plautus’ Amphitruo, which he is directing and translating. He discusses the legacy of the play and why a Roman comedy is the meaningful for a Vancouver audience. He also will discuss the show’s music, and some of the production decisions being made to help make the play relevant for today.

Neil Ritchie continues to examine what makes a performer great in this series, including Oscar Hammerstein, Lady Gaga, Dolly Parton and others. 

Sept 10 Oscar Hammerstein

Oscar Hammerstein meets Richard Rodgers. "Oklahoma".

Sept 17 Big Band Singers

All the greats cut their teeth in Big Bands including Bing, Ella, Frank, Peggy, Anita and Sarah.

Sept 24 Nino Rota

Perhaps the best of the film composers famous for his Godfather scores and Federico Fellini films.

Oct 1 Lady Gaga

Equally talented as a singer and actress and self promoter.

Oct 8 Agnes de Mille

Ground-breaking choreographer and intellectual.

Oct 15 Dolly Parton

Another brilliant entertainer who created her own history.

We will explore a selection of the most ambitious large-scale works of Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) and Franz Liszt (1811-1886), including Chopin’s piano sonatas, chamber works, and piano concertos, and Liszt’s Piano Sonata in B minor, piano concertos, and oratorios.

Week 1: Chopin’s upbringing and early musical training, his works for piano and orchestra.

Week 2: Chopin moves to Paris, his piano sonatas and other works.

Week 3: Chopin’s chamber music, his illness and death.

Week 4: Liszt’s remarkable development and years as a travelling virtuoso, his piano concertos.

Week 5: The Weimar years, Liszt conducting and teaching, his Piano Sonata in B minor and other works.

Week 6: The years in Rome, Liszt’s religiosity and the oratorios, St. Elisabeth and Christus.

Join John Mitchell on a musical journey back to the 70s.

Critics often say that the music of the 70s pales in comparison to the music of other decades. Well, in this course, we’re going to prove them wrong. Many of the artists that began their careers in the 60s released some of their best work in the 70s, add to that, new artists like Elton John, Fleetwood Mac and the Jackson 5 and the evolution of soul music into Funk with Sly and the Family Stone and of course the BeeGees ushering in the age of Disco with Saturday Night Fever, then mix in the silky smooth Philly sound and you have music that started the world dancing. Not to leave out the rockers who started in the 60’s but came to the fore in the 70s like Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and a host of heavy metal artists, all of which adds up to a fantastic decade of music.

Join Florian Gassner on a journey through Canadian Monuments to Central and Eastern European History.

Canadians claiming Central and Eastern European heritage make up roughly 20% of the country’s population. Numerous monuments across the nation document their immigration story, the history that led to their move to Canada and their contributions to their new communities. We can even find some of these public artworks on our own campus, such as the bust dedicated to Béla Bartók in the School of Music or the memorial dedicated to the Sopron group outside the Forestry building. This course will introduce participants to these contexts, familiarize them with this aspect of Canadian history and foster the cultural literacy necessary to read and interpret these features of Canada’s symbolic geography. As we explore the histories connected to these monuments, participants will learn to situate them in topical debates about immigration, diversity, and multiculturalism. This discussion will include approaches from the fields of memory studies, Indigenous studies, art history, urban planning, cultural history and transnational studies.

Join Marina Sonkina on discovering the magical literary works of Vladimir Nabokov.

There are only few precedents in the world literature when writers produce the major bulk of their work simultaneously in two languages. Despite that, Vladimir Nabokov, a style virtuoso, whose artistry lies in immense linguistic ingenuity, both in Russian and English, was denied The Nobel Prize four times because of his novel Lolita. The most stunning quality of Nabokov's prose is his unexpected point of regard: by uncovering the metaphysical lining of the mundane, he  turns the familiar universe on its axes. Fresh metaphors; paradoxical denouements; an unreliable narrator – these are just some features of his style that reward an attentive reader with great aesthetic pleasure.

In this course I will focus on Nabokov's earlier, “Russian” period, less known to the North American audience. That was the time when a penniless refugee in prewar Berlin, then in his 20s and 30s, created in Russian dozens of superb short stories, several novels and volumes of poetry later translated into English by his son under the supervision of the author. I will supplement the discussion with social, political and biographical contexts that will equip us with better understanding of the texts. Since Nabokov's stories allow numerous interpretations, I'm looking forward to hearing your takes on them.

Reading:

1. The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov

Alfred A. Knopf, NY, 1995 (I recommend to get the actual book. Libraries. Amazon or ABE Books are some of the sources).

2. Mary, any edition. (This is the first novel Nabokov wrote; small in volume; an easy read).  

List of Short Stories to be Discussed:

1. A Letter That Never Reached Russia

2. The Admiralty Spire

3. First Love

4. Tyrants Destroyed

5. Signs and Symbols

6. Terror

7. Cloud, Castle, Lake

8. The Return of Chorb

10. The Aurelian

11. The Potato Elf

9. Mademoiselle O.

Dr. Clinton Lee returns to entice members with the wines from the Northern Hemisphere.

Welcome back to the lovely World of Wine after a long hiatus.

This Fall we have a spectacular offering from Dr. Clinton Lee, our wine expert and lecturer, who will take us through the wines of the northern hemisphere.

From the Northern most reach of the Sonoma desert placing us in the Okanagan Valley to the United States, Europe and beyond come and join us as we share the wine culture, history and wines of the region. There will be tastings at each session and a valuable Q and A at the end. We look forward to seeing you all again.

We will explore some of the most beloved musical works by Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) and Robert Schumann (1810-1856).

Week 1: Mendelssohn – music history’s greatest prodigy? The String Octet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream Overture and Hebrides Overture.

Week 2: Mendelssohn’s Italian and Scottish Symphonies.

Week 3: Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto. The oratorios, St. Paul and Elijah, and questions of religious identity.

Week 4: Schumann – a litterateur among composers. His piano and chamber music, including the Piano Fantasy and Piano Quintet.

Week 5: Large-scale ambitions: the Spring Symphony and Piano Concerto.

Week 6: Greater ambitions, including the Rhennish Symphony and the oratorio, Paradise and the Peri. Schumann’s illness and death.