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Music has helped tell America’s story, reflecting our triumphs and struggles through its multiplicity of traditions. Indeed, the richness and diversity of American culture has created such foundational genres as jazz, blues, country, rock, and hip hop, and is a powerful expression of who we are.
Part Two ~ The blues—it’s a feeling, it’s a musical form, and it’s a uniquely American musical genre. Rooted in African American traditions, it has been embraced around the world and proved foundational to two other quintessentially American genres: jazz and rock and roll. During our evening together, we will trace its development from the Archaic Blues in the 1920s to the rock and roll of Eric Clapton and the Rolling Stones in the 1960s.
PRESENTER:
Robert Hartwell holds a doctorate in music education from Columbia University. As professor of music at Foothill College, he specializes in welcoming the uninitiated into the world of classical music. He co-authored a three-volume series on the history of Western music, and contributed to the New Pedagogies in Higher Education series. He has served as a pre-performance lecturer for the San Francisco Opera.