Lifelong Learners Institute
The Lifelong Learners Institute offers open courses for the community independent of Canisius University degree programs. Our instructors come from a wide range of academic disciplines to give our courses a broad cross-section of knowledge, experience, and experience. No papers or tests are given! Just much good discussion!
Classes meet weekly for six weeks and are limited to 16 students. Cost is $60. Questions? Contact Yvonne Widenor at 716-888-2531.
Fall 2024
What is a Symphony?
October 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, November 5
2:00-3:30 PM
Canisius University Campus
Science Hall 1017
What is this mysterious art form? How do I listen to it? In this six-week course, we will delve into a centuries-old musical template that is still used today. We will spend much time looking at form (a sort of musical road map) and whether or not composers decided to use them. We’ll also explore instrumentation and how the orchestra grew from about a dozen to well over a hundred musicians!
This course will be centered around lively discussion. While there will not be any “homework”, you are strongly encouraged to listen to the week’s musical examples prior to that week’s meeting – even if you know nothing about it! Questions will always be welcome both in and outside of class time.
WK 1: The Father of the Symphony: Franz Joseph Haydn, The Minuet Form & Rondo Form
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- Haydn Symphony No. 101, mvmt. 3; Mozart Symphony No. 36, mvmt. 4
WK 2: The Pupil:Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, The Sonata-Allegro Form
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- Mozart Symphony No. 40, mvmt. 1
WK 3: “Music will never again be the same”: Ludvig van Beethoven, The Scherzo, & Sonata-Allegro Form cont.
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- Beethoven Symphony No. 1, mvmt. 3; Beethoven Symphony No. 3 “Eroica”, mvmt. 1
WK 4: An Italian Symphony: Felix Mendelssohn, Sonata-Allegro Form cont.
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- Mendelssohn Symphony No. 4 “Italian”, mvmt. 1
WK 5: The Slow Movement: Antonin Dvorak
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- Dvorak Symphony No. 9 “From the New World”, mvmt. 2
WK 6: The Big Picture: The Symphony as a Storyteller
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- Beethoven Symphony No. 5 (brief overview); Mahler Symphony No. 1 “Titan” (brief overview)
2024-2025 Semester
Funny Things Happened in Greek Comedies
Johanna Fisher (English)
The Literature of the Bible
Johanna Fisher (English)
2023-2024 Semester
Boundaries of Wisdom: Reading Ancient Texts
Johanna Fisher (English)
Reading the Crusades in Literature: Negotiating War & Change
Johanna Fisher (English)
To Hell & Back: Reading Dante’s “Il Inferno”
Johanna Fisher (English)
The Power of Myth: Opening to the Mystery of the Universe
Johanna Fisher (English)
2022-2023 Semester
From Odysseus to Harry Potter: The Evolution of the Hero
Robert J. Butler (English)
2021-2022 Semester
Witches & Wives: Women in the Middle Ages
Kara Larson Maloney (English)
A Brief History of Byzantium
Jeff Brubaker (Classics)
2020-2021 Semester
The Plague in Medieval Literature
Johanna Fisher (English)
Arthur: The Once & Future King
Kara Maloney (English)
The Crusades
Jeff Brubaker (Classics)
Tempters & Temptresses: The Medieval Romance
Johanna Fisher (English)
