Great American Songbook: Music of Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer
Hoagy Carmichael sits at the piano.
Livingston Taylor teaches at Berklee.
Photo livtaylor.com
Donna McElroy performs at the Berklee Performance Center.
Photo Phil Farnsworth
The Signature Series at Berklee continues with the Great American Songbook, an annual celebration of American songwriting. On February 26, the Great American Songbook celebrates the music of Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer, who composed time-tested standards like "Skylark" and "In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening." Berklee students and faculty, featuring vocalists Livingston Taylor and Donna McElroy, guitarist Julian Lage, and violinist Matt Glazer, will be backed by a full orchestra to interpret the individual and collaborative songs of these American masters.
Great American Songbook: Music of Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer takes place on Sunday, February 26, 7:30 p.m. at the Berklee Performance Center (BPC), 136 Massachusetts Avenue. Tickets are $15 or $10 for reserved seating. Purchase tickets at berkleebpc.com, call 617 747-2261, or visit the BPC box office. The BPC is wheelchair accessible.
In addition to Taylor, McElroy, Lage, and Glazer, performers include trombonist Phil Wilson with the Berklee Rainbow Band and student vocalists Emily Miller, Therlande Louissaint, Hassan "Khalil" Abdulmalik, Jennifer Warris, and Dustin Hyatt. Berklee's award-winning a cappella group Pitch Slapped will make a special appearance.
The most recent episode of the Sounds of Berklee podcast features Donna McElroy singing lead on Duke Ellington's "I'm Just a Lucky So and So," from Berklee's 2006 American Songbook Concert.
Can't make it to the show? This event will stream live on Concert Window.