Lectures & Specials   

In 2024, the 200th anniversary year of its first performance, this work, with its famous Ode to Joy, has become a timeless icon; but in 1824 Vienna, nobody had heard it. With images and music, we'll seek to re-create the experience of the premiere of the Symphony No. 9, composed by Ludwig van Beethoven, a German composer and pianist. One of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; Beethoven's works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire and span the transition from the Classical period to the Romantic era in classical music. This lecture will be delivered by Thomas Kelly, a Morton B. Knafel Research Professor of Music at Harvard University. No discounts or waivers.

At the age of 3, Ed Hajim is kidnapped by his father, driven cross-country, and told his mother had died. He presses his face against the car window, watches the miles pass and wonders where life will take him. Where you’d least expect.  Filled with human drama, wisdom and timeless life lessons, Ed Hajim tells his improbable story of how he bounced from foster homes to orphanages, in a daily struggle to survive, to living the American dream as an accomplished Wall Street executive and model family man with great moral fiber and the means to give back to a world that seemed intent on rejecting him. No discounts or waivers.

Dr. Kenn Sebesta, Director of Robotics & Autonomous Systems Teaching and Innovation Center at Boston University, will discuss Artificial Intelligence and the ethical dilemmas autonomous car programmers face with exceptional driving situations - instances where the car cannot at the same time fulfill its obligations to all road users and its passengers.  Are there solutions to this problem? Whether you are a tech enthusiast or simply curious, this lecture promises to be thought-provoking! All are welcome.  No discounts. 

Dr. Brian Kulis, Associate Professor at Boston University and Amazon Scholar, will discuss deep learning, which generates new types of data that have never existed before.  The rate of acceleration in deep learning has been shocking but exciting for most and scary to some of its practitioners and end-users.  Beyond creating images, videos, stories and more, people can now generate fulll synthetic environments in which activities are realistic, such as learning how to drive.  Where is this technology taking us and how might we apply it to our businesses and personal lives? Whether you are a tech enthusiast or simply curious about Artificial Intelligence, this lecture pomises to be an enlightening and thought-provoking experience. No discounts.