JUDY COLLINS TO LECTURE AUGUST 14 AT CHAUTAUQUA INSTITUITON

CHAUTAUQUA , N.Y. — Chautauqua Institution is pleased to announce that Judy Collins, folk singer, author, artist, will be lecturing in the Amphitheater on August 14. Week eight runs from Aug. 13 to Aug. 17.

Weekly theme: Music: Heart, Soul and Dollar

Music hath charms to soothe the beast - or unleash it. Music is integral to identity in culture and society, from our most primitive expressions to the iPod. Guest speakers will explore cross-cultural music trends and examine how music affects learning and creativity, contributes to economy, and connects performer and audience.

August 13 – Robert Greenberg

Robert Greenberg is a composer, musicologist, and teacher who has lectured extensively across North America and Europe on topics such as the chamber music of Mozart; understanding great concert works; the life and operas of Verdi; and the concerto and the symphony. Currently, he is music historian-in-residence with San Francisco Performances, the city’s premier presenter of chamber music, instrumental and vocal recitals, jazz, and contemporary dance, where he has lectured and performed since 1994. He is also the resident composer and music historian to National Public Radio’s “Weekend All Things Considered.”

Dr. Greenberg has composed more than 40 works for a wide variety of instrumental and vocal ensembles. Among other honors, he was been awarded three Nicola De Lorenzo Prizes in composition, three Meet the Composer grants, and commissions from the Koussevitzky Foundation of the Library of Congress, and the Alexander String Quartet.

He has served on the faculties of the University of California at Berkeley, California State University at Hayward, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he chaired the Department of Music History and Literature and served as the Director of the Adult Extension Division.

Dr. Greenberg earned his B.A. in music from Princeton University, and earned a Ph.D. in music composition from the University of California at Berkeley.

This will be Robert Greenberg’s second trip to Chautauqua following his participation as the Everett Scholar-in-Residence during the 2006 season.

August 14 – Judy Collins

Judy Collins, no stranger to Chautauqua, is a legendary folk singer, author, and artist who is celebrating her 40^th year of recording with 37 albums, top 10 hits, Grammy nominations and gold and platinum status.

An innately creative individual, Ms. Collins is also known for her books and watercolors. She wrote the bestseller Sanity and Grace that is based on her own experience with the tragic loss of her son’s life. Her new book, Morning Noon and Night: Living the Creative Life, describes her approach to the creative process and inspiring others to enhance creativity in their own lives.

August 15 – Aaron Dworkin

Aaron Dworkin serves as president of the Sphinx Organization in Detroit, Mich., a national non-profit he founded in 1996 to help overcome the cultural stereotype of classical music. The organization administers youth development initiatives in underserved communities through music education, and aims to increase the participation of Blacks and Latinos in music schools, as professional musicians, and as classical music audiences.

An accomplished electric and acoustic violinist, Mr. Dworkin received his Bachelor’s and Master’s of Music in Violin Performance from the University of Michigan School of Music, graduating with high honors. He previously attended the Peabody Institute, the Philadelphia New School, and the Interlochen Arts Academy. Among many honors, Mr. Dworkin received the 2006 Newsweek Giving Back Award, and was celebrated as a MacArthur Fellow in 2005.

August 16 – Daniel Levitin

Following a successful career as a rock musician, studio producer, and industry executive, Daniel Levitin turned to cognitive neuroscience, earned a Ph.D. and is now one of the world’s leading neuroscientists studying how our brains interpret music. Currently, he is an Associate Professor of Psychology, Behavioral Neuroscience, and Music at McGill University in Montreal where he also heads the Laboratory for Music Perception, Cognition, and Expertise. His new book, This Is Your Brain On Music: The Science of a Human Obsession, was published to acclaim this year.

Levitin has worked as a session musician, recording engineer, live sound engineer, and has produced and consulted on more than 30 rock and popular music records, including Blue Öyster Cult, Chris Isaak, Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan and Joe Satriani; records and CDs to which he has contributed have sold in excess of 30 million copies. He has been awarded nine gold and platinum records. He has also written extensively, both in scientific journals and in trade magazine such as Grammy, Billboard, and Audio. He has interviewed and written in-depth articles on such artists as Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon, and k.d. Lang, and wrote the liner notes for Wonder's newest CD release.

Levitin studied electrical engineering at MIT, and music at the Berklee College of Music before dropping out of college. He returned to school in his thirties, studying cognitive psychology/cognitive science at Stanford University. He earned his Ph.D. in Psychology at the University of Oregon, researching absolute pitch. He has also worked as a stand-up comedian, won the National Lampoon Standup Comedy Competition Regional finals (1989), and has written jokes for Jay Leno and Arsenio Hall.

August 17 – Peter Gelb

Peter Gelb serves as general manager of New York's Metropolitan Opera, overseeing both the artistic and the administrative aspects of one of the largest performing arts institutions in the world.

Mr. Gelb has extensive and varied experience in the field of classical music. An award-winning producer of films, recordings, radio broadcasts, telecasts, concert events, operas, and festivals, he has collaborated with the world's leading artists, including Plácido Domingo, Renée Fleming, Wynton Marsalis, Anthony Minghella, Riccardo Muti, Seiji Ozawa, and Julie Taymor.

Since 1995 until joining the Met, Mr. Gelb was president of Sony Classical, one of the world’s largest classical record labels, and led the company through a period of notable growth and creativity, expanding the focus of recording projects to include best-selling film scores, including the Academy Award-winning scores for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon by Tan Dun, and The Red Violin by John Corigliano among others.

As president of CAMI Video, a division of Columbia Artists Management that Mr. Gelb founded in 1982, he served as executive producer of the Met’s television series, “The Metropolitan Opera Presents” for six years. While at CAMI, he also produced and directed more than 50 programs featuring such artists as Herbert von Karajan, Kathleen Battle, Jessye Norman, and Yo-Yo Ma.

Mr. Gelb’s television productions earned 13 Primetime Emmy Awards. He has also won two Emmy Awards for films on Rostropovich and Vladimir Horowitz, a Peabody Award for his television series Marsalis on Music (1995), and a Grammy Award for “Recording The Producers,” a film about the making of the hit Broadway show’s cast album.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Gelb managed the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s historic 1979 tour to China. He revived Vladimir Horowitz’s concert career in 1980 and producing the famed pianist’s historic return to Russia in 1986. He also produced Tan Dun’s premiere, Symphony 1997, featuring Yo-Yo Ma, which Mr. Gelb commissioned in partnership with the Chinese government to be performed at the handover of Hong Kong to China.

Chautauqua Institution hosts the weekday Morning Lecture Series at 10:45 in the Amphitheater. Tickets can be purchased at the Chautauqua Box Office in the Turner Community Center on Route 394. They may also be ordered by phone at 716.357.6250 or on the Web at tickets.ciweb.org.

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** The Chautauqua Institution is a not-for-profit organization that serves as a community, a center, and a resource where the human spirit is renewed, minds stimulated, faith restored and the arts valued. It has performance venues, hotel, golf, tennis, and educational and recreational facilities.

For nine weeks each year, from late June through late August, the Institution offers a rich blend of arts, a variety of programming and recreational activities. Its educational mission is continued during the rest of the year with programs for older adults such as Elderhostels and other learning opportunities.