Hofstra University gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Long Island Regional Chapter of the Italian American Studies Association and the Association of Italian American Educator, Cav. Josephine Maietta, president.
All events are FREE and open to the public, unless otherwise indicated. Advance registration is required.
Reservations will be honored on a first-come, first-serve basis. For more information, please contact the Hofstra Cultural Center at 516-463-5669.
FALL 2015
HOFSTRA CELEBRATES SINATRA
A century after his birth, Frank Sinatra still looms large in the American imagination and in our popular culture. Join us as we celebrate his 100th birthday and his extraordinary life and career with a series of lectures, interviews, and a master class followed by musical interludes by Hofstra students, professional singers and musicians from The Great American Song Book. Featuring legendary musicians who played and toured with Frank Sinatra: Jerry Bruno, bass, D’Addario Foundation Visiting Artists; and Grammy Award-nominated jazz vocalist Jane Monheit; authors and biographers James Kaplan, David Evanier and Will Friedwald; scholars John Gennari, University of Vermont, and Shalom Goldman, Middlebury College; journalists Sandy Kenyon, WABC-TV, Carol D’Auria, 1010 WINS, and Mark Rotella, Publishers Weekly; multimedia journalist and founding member Greg Dunmore, National Association of Black Journalists; and Sal Scognamillo, Patsy’s Italian Restaurant.
Advance registration is required where indicated:
Tuesday, November 10, 7 p.m.
Gay Talese (Frank Sinatra Has a Cold and Other Essays) and Pete Hamill (Why Sinatra Matters) discuss “Sinatra As American Icon.”
Register
Wednesday, November 11
Bassist Jerry Bruno, who played and toured with Sinatra, will be interviewed at 5 p.m. by John Bohannon, host of WRHU-FM’s The Jazz Café. The interview is followed by an 8 p.m. master class.
Register
Thursday, November 12, 4 p.m.
“Racism, Civil Rights and Israel” focuses on Sinatra as a champion of civil rights and a staunch supporter of Israel. There will also be a screening of 1945’s The House I Live In, a short film opposing anti-Semitism, starring Sinatra.
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Thursday, November 12, 7 p.m.
The Great American Songbook: Past, Present and Future is a panel that features musician, record producer and songwriter David Finck; musical director, pianist and arranger Tedd Firth; Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist Jane Monheit; and Debbi Whiting, president of My Ideal Music.
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Wednesday, November 18, 4 p.m.
“Lessons Learned From Sinatra” is a lecture and master class with radio personality Mark Simone.
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Wednesday, November 18, 8 p.m.
Will Friedwald, music critic and author of Sinatra! The Song Is You: A Singer’s Art, presents “Sinatra: The Television Factor,” with an introduction by Robert Foster, executive director of the Hoboken Historical Museum.
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Thursday, November 19, 4 p.m.
“Frank Sinatra and Italian American Culture” features University of Vermont Professor John Gennari; Joe Scognamillo and Sal Scognamillo of Patsy’s Restaurant in New York City; author Mark Rotella; and scholar Rocco Marinaccio.
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Thursday, November 19, 7:30 p.m.
“Assessing Frank Sinatra” features celebrity journalist Sandy Kenyon, music critic and author Will Friedwald, Sinatra biographer James Kaplan, radio host Ron Forman, and Bronx Opera Company Artistic Director Michael Spierman.
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Sunday, November 22, 7 p.m.
The Peter B. Clark Memorial Scholarship Fund Concert Sinatra
Past, Present and Future
Legendary Guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli
WILL NOT BE PERFORMING
(due to health reasons)
with Guest artist, the Legendary Jazz guitarist extraordinaire, Rick Stone
featuring the
Hofstra Jazz Ensemble
Hofstra Vocal Jazz Quartet
and the
Sinatra Future Singers
(A free master class and open rehearsal with Rick Stone will be given at
4 p.m. prior to the evening performance. Interaction is limited to Hofstra students only)
Register
This performance takes place at The Helene Fortunoff Theater.
Tickets are $10, $8 for senior citizens (over 65) or non-Hofstra students with ID.
This event is sold out.