December Mini Courses   

**This class will be taught In-Person**

Funk Art rose from the depths of the San Francisco underground influenced by the expansion of hippie counterculture and anti-establishment Beatnik aesthetics and expression. While the sleek Minimalism of New York’s avant-garde became popular on the East Coast, nothing was off limits to the Bay Area’s Funk artists who openly embraced issues of sex, gender, and human identity.

Funk Art became home to artists Robert Arneson, David Gilhooly, and Clayton Bailey to name a few who embraced the lurid, the garish, the cartoonish, and the profane.  This presentation will explore the artists, origins, and legacy of Funk Art, Nut Art and The Hairy Who.

**This class is a Hybrid. This section of the class will be taught In-Person**

Opera is NOT all about dying divas.  Composers often decide to "Make 'em laugh!" since humor is one of the great human emotions. San Francisco Opera's Dramaturg Emeritus Kip Cranna looks at what makes comic opera truly funny, exploring the composer's role in giving comedy its spark, using video examples (with subtitles) of operatic humor from the 17th century to the present day. Come prepared to interact, ask questions, and laugh!

**This class is a Hybrid. This section of the class will be taught on Zoom**

Opera is NOT all about dying divas.  Composers often decide to "Make 'em laugh!" since humor is one of the great human emotions. San Francisco Opera's Dramaturg Emeritus Kip Cranna looks at what makes comic opera truly funny, exploring the composer's role in giving comedy its spark, using video examples (with subtitles) of operatic humor from the 17th century to the present day. Come prepared to interact, ask questions, and laugh!

Adobe, an early form of masonry construction where walls carry the weight of a building, is the word for the unbaked mud brick and for a building constructed of mud bricks. This introduction to the simple adobe homes of California’s Spanish/Mexican colonial period, 1769 to 1848, will show the forms, structure, roofs, foundations and flooring, windows, doors, and amenities of the adobes housing ranchers and the residents of pueblos, the civil communities founded by Spain.  Improvements kept adobes warm and dry, brought in daylight and fresh air, and provided for indoor cooking.

**This class is a Hybrid. This section of the class will be taught In-Person**

**Note that this is a three week course.**

In 1956, Elvis Presley became early rock’n’roll’s biggest superstar with the #1 hit “Heartbreak Hotel,” followed by huge smashes like “Hound Dog,” “All Shook Up,” and “Jailhouse Rock.” This three-session course details his seismic impact on both popular music and youth culture, starting with his rise to stardom with his innovative fusion of country and blues into rockabilly in 1954 and 1955 with Sun Records in Memphis. His peak years with RCA in 1956 and 1957 are also detailed, along with his entry into movie stardom and the conclusion of his most exciting years with his 1958 induction into the Army.

Week One

The Birth of Elvis: The Mid-‘50s Sun Records

A. Born in Tupelo, Mississippi in 1935, Elvis grows up in poor-to-modest circumstances, immersing himself in Southern gospel, country, blues, and pop as a teenager after his family moves to Memphis.

B. With guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black, Elvis starts making rockabilly records fusing country and blues with producer Sam Phillips at Sun Records in mid-1954. His electric live performances start building a strong regional following throughout the South.

C. Presley’s five Sun singles in 1954 and 1955 also fuel his exploding popularity, and start to draw national attention. With Colonel Tom Parker as manager, in late 1955 he signs a deal with one of the most powerful record labels, RCA, who pay an unprecedented $35,000-40,000 to Sun for his contract.

Week Two

Rise to Superstardom with RCA Records

A. Helped by a series of network television appearances in early 1956, Elvis Presley’s first RCA single, “Heartbreak Hotel,” becomes a #1 hit. The rock’n’roll explosion’s already unstoppable, but Presley’s ascension is its biggest final boost.

B. Other huge hit singles,and two hit albums, follow in 1956 to cement his worldwide popularity, including “Hound Dog,” “Don’t Be Cruel,” and “Love Me Tender.” His live appearances drive audiences into a frenzy and cause controversy among establishment forces viewing rock’n’roll as a dangerous and subversive force.

C. Elvis enters the movies in late 1956 with Love Me Tender, the first of dozens of films in which he’ll star through the late 1960s, though few of them maximize his musical talents and potential as an actor.

Week Three

More Hits, Movies, and Induction into the Army

A. In 1957, Elvis continues his reign as early rock’s biggest star with hits like “All Shook Up,” “Jailhouse Rock,” and “Too Much.”

B. He also establishes himself as a box-office attraction with more movies, which are considered about the best of his lengthy and mediocre cinema career, like Jailhouse Rock and (though it’s released in 1958) King Creole. 

C. Elvis’s meteoric career is interrupted when he’s drafted into the army in early 1958. Songs that he records before he serves his commitment in Germany keep him at the top of the charts in 1958 and 1959, but many fans feel he never again matches the intensity and creativity of his 1954-57 recordings.

**This class is a Hybrid. This section of the class will be taught on Zoom**

**Note that this is a three week course.**

In 1956, Elvis Presley became early rock’n’roll’s biggest superstar with the #1 hit “Heartbreak Hotel,” followed by huge smashes like “Hound Dog,” “All Shook Up,” and “Jailhouse Rock.” This three-session course details his seismic impact on both popular music and youth culture, starting with his rise to stardom with his innovative fusion of country and blues into rockabilly in 1954 and 1955 with Sun Records in Memphis. His peak years with RCA in 1956 and 1957 are also detailed, along with his entry into movie stardom and the conclusion of his most exciting years with his 1958 induction into the Army.

Week One

The Birth of Elvis: The Mid-‘50s Sun Records

A. Born in Tupelo, Mississippi in 1935, Elvis grows up in poor-to-modest circumstances, immersing himself in Southern gospel, country, blues, and pop as a teenager after his family moves to Memphis.

B. With guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black, Elvis starts making rockabilly records fusing country and blues with producer Sam Phillips at Sun Records in mid-1954. His electric live performances start building a strong regional following throughout the South.

C. Presley’s five Sun singles in 1954 and 1955 also fuel his exploding popularity, and start to draw national attention. With Colonel Tom Parker as manager, in late 1955 he signs a deal with one of the most powerful record labels, RCA, who pay an unprecedented $35,000-40,000 to Sun for his contract.

Week Two

Rise to Superstardom with RCA Records

A. Helped by a series of network television appearances in early 1956, Elvis Presley’s first RCA single, “Heartbreak Hotel,” becomes a #1 hit. The rock’n’roll explosion’s already unstoppable, but Presley’s ascension is its biggest final boost.

B. Other huge hit singles,and two hit albums, follow in 1956 to cement his worldwide popularity, including “Hound Dog,” “Don’t Be Cruel,” and “Love Me Tender.” His live appearances drive audiences into a frenzy and cause controversy among establishment forces viewing rock’n’roll as a dangerous and subversive force.

C. Elvis enters the movies in late 1956 with Love Me Tender, the first of dozens of films in which he’ll star through the late 1960s, though few of them maximize his musical talents and potential as an actor.

Week Three

More Hits, Movies, and Induction into the Army

A. In 1957, Elvis continues his reign as early rock’s biggest star with hits like “All Shook Up,” “Jailhouse Rock,” and “Too Much.”

B. He also establishes himself as a box-office attraction with more movies, which are considered about the best of his lengthy and mediocre cinema career, like Jailhouse Rock and (though it’s released in 1958) King Creole.

C. Elvis’s meteoric career is interrupted when he’s drafted into the army in early 1958. Songs that he records before he serves his commitment in Germany keep him at the top of the charts in 1958 and 1959, but many fans feel he never again matches the intensity and creativity of his 1954-57 recordings.