Symposia to explore life, music of conductor Leonard Bernstein

The last day to register online for the upcoming “Leonard Bernstein: Boston to Broadway” symposia is Oct. 10. Running Oct. 12-14, the conference will include talks and performances showcasing the multifaceted career and extraordinary legacy of one of the most illustrious music artists of the 20th century. The cost to register is $100, which includes access to symposia, exhibits, “Boston’s Bernstein” concert on Oct. 12 (Paine Hall, 8 p.m.), and the “Celebrating Bernstein” concert on Oct. 14 (Sanders Theatre, 8 p.m.).

Individual tickets for events may now be purchased through the Harvard Box Office, (617) 496-2222. Tickets for each event cost $15 (general admission) and $5 for Harvard students (two per ID), unless otherwise noted.

Some of the upcoming symposia events include “Family Matters: A Conversation with the Bernsteins,” Oct. 12 at 4 p.m. in Paine Hall. Sponsored by the Office for the Arts, the talk will feature Jamie Bernstein Thomas, Alexander Bernstein, Nina Bernstein Simmons, and Burton Bernstein. William Powell Mason Professor of Music Carol Oja will moderate. Also on Oct. 12, the “Boston’s Bernstein” concert featuring Harvard student performers will be held at 8 p.m. in Paine Hall. The concert will showcase works by Braslavsky, Binder, Copland, Blitzstein, Shapero, and Bernstein, including a premiere of Bernstein’s 1937 arrangement of Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.”

The following day (Oct. 13), “Boston’s Bernstein: Jewish Identity and Community” – a talk with Jonathan Sarna, Sheryl Kaskowitz, David Schiller, and moderator Kay Kaufman Shelemay, the G. Gordon Watts Professor of Music and professor of African and African American studies – will be held at 9 a.m. (all events in Paine Hall). From 11 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., the discussion “Boston’s Bernstein: Musical and Educational Spheres” will be held. The talk will feature Ryan Bañagale, Drew Massey, Geoffrey Block, and Emily Abrams, and will be moderated by Oja. In the afternoon (2 p.m.), music director and conductor Fisher will lead a master class on Bernstein’s vocal music. Fisher will coach Harvard undergraduate students on learning the vocal music of Bernstein’s Broadway shows. From 4 to 5 p.m., musicologist Judith Tick, composer and music critic David Schiff, lyricist Sheldon Harnick, and Rob Fisher will explore “Ongoing Resonances of Bernstein Shows.” At 7 p.m. on Oct. 13, Marie Carter and Craig Urquhart, vice presidents of the Leonard Bernstein Office, will discuss “Bernstein on Early Television.”