The Search For An American Sound (OOL)
Osher Online | Registration opens Sunday, August 16, 2026 2:00 PM
Since the 1890s, when Americans were beginning to develop their own traditions in classical music, composers have recognized the dilemma of creating the American sound. We will explore how classical musicians, and Broadway and Hollywood composers, most of them Jewish, followed parallel paths in creating sounds that have been defined as evocative of these lands and its people. Aaron Copland, George Gershwin, William Grant Steel, Florence Price, Alex North, Elmer Bernstein and others will be the protagonists of this lecture, supported with audiovisuals and anecdotes.
This program meets on Mondays, 10/12/26 through 11/16/26 at 4:00 pm
ET Each live session is 90 minutes
Monday, October 12
Monday, October 19
Monday, October 26
Monday, November 2
Monday, November 9
Monday, November 16
As this class is delivered by the National Resource Center for OLLIs (NRC) at Northwestern University, you will receive a welcome email from osheronline@northwestern.edu. The email will include your credentials (username & password) as well as a hyperlink to the Osher Online Website through which you will access your course website.
Please save the link once you receive it. Multi-session courses will use this same link each week.
Emanuel Abramovits
Emanuel Abramovits is a mechanical engineer and has been a concert promoter for over two decades. He is involved in events by international artists like Itzhak Perlman, Gustavo Dudamel, Sarah Brightman, Roger Hodgson, ASIA, Journey, and Kenny G. Abramovits has designed and staged original orchestral events, including an Event of the Year winner and several world premieres. He served as the cultural director at Union Israelita De Caracas, releasing books and organizing film cycles, concerts, and art exhibits.