Film and Music   

The Beatles touring days are over.  They film Magical Mystery Tour for broadcast on BBC TV. Then travel to Rishikesh, India where they learn to meditate while composing more than two dozen songs for the “White Album”.  Conflicts arise during the making of “Let it Be”, a documentary of producing that album. The Beatles story ends with the making of “Abbey Road”. 

Johann Sebastian Bach spent the final twenty seven years of his career in Leipzig, Germany creating unsurpassed masterpieces such as the Mass in B Minor, St. Matthew's Passion and the Goldberg Variations. We will delve in these riches (among others), and the circumstances under which they were created. 

Let’s travel to real and fictional places to learn how the combination of discernment, metacognition, imagination, along with a touch of wit and/or sarcasm result in correctly identifying the culprit. Father Brown, Jessica, Columbo, and others will take us under the wing to reveal their thought processes and commitment to fair and just outcomes. No investigator license or alibi required to participate!  

We’ll review the antics of Josephine, Daphne, and Sugar in the company of Spats, Osgood, and Sweet Sue, in the 1959 film gem “Some Like it Hot.” We’ll discuss how actions and interactions define this multi-faceted comedy genre to make it AFI’s greatest  comedy of all time. Taking its cue from the artistry of Billy Wilder’s direction, and the masterful (over-the-top) performances from the cast, we’ll laugh our way through each session. Won’t that be fun! 

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) was Russia's most celebrated Romantic composer, whose emotionally powerful music bridged Western European traditions with Russian nationalism. Despite personal struggles, including his conflicted sexuality and bouts of depression, he created masterworks across multiple genres. His ballets, symphonies and concertos remain cornerstones of the classical repertoire. Tchaikovsky's gift for memorable melodies and dramatic orchestration made his music internationally beloved, establishing him as one of history's most influential composers whose works continue captivating audiences worldwide. In this course we’ll listen to samples of his music in the context of what was happening in his life.