In collaboration with the New York Council for the Humanities, the Comsewogue Public Library will present the lecture, "Oh What a Charming City": New York City in Folk and Popular Song, by Robert Cohen on Thursday, June 12 at 7:00pm at the library. This lecture is free and open to the general public. This event is made possible through the Speakers in the Humanities program with the support of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
New York City's rich musical tradition extends from the broadside ballads of the 18th and 19th centuries to the "folk revivals" of the 1940s, 50s, 60s and beyond, and from Tin Pan Alley, Broadway and the "Brill Building" songwriters to street-corner harmony singing ("doo-wop") and the cutting-edge singer-songwriter offerings of the 1980s, 1990s and today. In this audio lecture, we'll sample songs of crime, housing and transportation in the city, along with other musical ruminations on urban life and love - and consider how they reflect the sights and sounds, the rhythms and energy, and the peculiar problems and charms of life in New York City.
Robert Cohen has produced and hosted over 100 radio programs on Jewish culture and identity - including National Public Radio's One People, Many Voices: American-Jewish Music Comes of Age, part of the permanent collection of the Paley Center for Media in New York. He has lectured and taught at the New York Public Library, the New England Conservatory of Music, the American Jewish Historical Society, the Brooklyn Historical Society, the Abigail Adams Smith Museum, the Jewish Theological Seminary, and the New School -- where he worked with Pete Seeger, Tom Paxton, Richie Havens, Elizabeth Swados, and other notable musicians. He has been a consultant to musicians and radio hosts; has written on Jewish music and American folk music for MOMENT magazine, NEWSDAY, and other publications; and produced the compilation CD Open the Gates! New American-Jewish Music for Prayer.
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Since its launch in 1983, the Council’s Speakers in the Humanities program has brought distinguished scholars on a wide range of humanities topics to audiences across New York State. All Speakers events are free and open to the general public. Each year, hundreds of non-profit organizations and community groups take advantage of this program, including community centers, religious organizations, museums and historical societies, and libraries. The Speakers program is an easy, affordable way for organizations to bring top humanities programming to their community.
For more information about this event or to register contact the library at 631-928-1212. For more information about the Speakers in the Humanities program, visit www.nyhumanities.org/sih.
