What Makes It Great? Celebrating the Great American Songbook

Kaufman Music Center at Merkin Hall presents What Makes It Great? Celebrating the Great American Songbook, a new 5-concert course that explores music by George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Harold Arlen, Richard Rodgers and Leonard Bernstein.

This unique online 5-concert course taught by What Makes It Great? host Rob Kapilow and co-presented with the JCC Thurnauer School of Music at the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades explores the much-beloved world of the Great American Songbook. Based on his critically acclaimed 2019 book, Listening For America: Inside the Great American Songbook from Gershwin to Sondheim, each of the course’s five classes focuses on one of the giants of the Great American Songbook. Through a close look at several of each composer's most famous songs combined with a wide-angled historical point of view, the course tells the story of America through some of its greatest songs. The course is designed for everyone and anyone, whether you are a musical-theatre devotee, first-time listener, singer, music student, or simply a lover of the music of Broadway's Golden Age. 

Classes will be released online at 7:00pm on Tuesdays from Tuesday, February 23 – Tuesday, March 30 and will then be available to watch on demand. Each class will conclude with a live online Q&A with Rob Kapilow. Individual tickets to the Cole Porter concert and Stephen Sondheim concert costs $15, or $25 for both concerts. Tickets for the 5 classes cost $50. You can also purchase a bundle of the 5 classes and 2 concerts for $70. Click here to learn more and purchase tickets.

Photo credit: Kaufman Music Center