The Highlands-Cashiers Center for Life Enrichment’s 2025 program season is in full swing! Whether you enjoy the moving melodies of chamber music or the upbeat rhythms of rock and roll, CLE has a musical experience for you!
On Wednesday, July 16, and Thursday, July 17, CLE presenter and musician Tom Dell will lead a fascinating two-part presentation on “The Origins of Rock and Roll – The Early 1960s.” Dell will transport attendees to the early 1960s, prior to the British Invasion by groups such as the Beatles and Rolling Stones. He will begin by examining the slow demise of Rockabilly, whose stars included Ricky Nelson, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, The Everly Brothers, and Jerry Lee Lewis. Attendees will listen to some of the “safe” performers of the time, such as Fabian, Bobby Darin, Frankie Avalon, and Connie Francis, followed by some of the “threats to teenage ears” like Little Richard, Link Wray, and Bo Diddley, with their raucous sounds and questionable lyrics. Dell will also trace the rise to prominence of Motown, which brought a fresh sound to white America, as well as Rhythm and Blues.
Dwight Andrews
On Saturday, July 19, Ben Arnold will lead a presentation titled “The Canonic Phenomenon of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring: Primitivism, Myth, and Modernity.” This program, in collaboration with the Highlands-Cashiers Chamber Music Festival, will explore one of the most outstanding orchestral works of the twentieth century: Igor Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. Following the enormous success of his earlier ballets, Stravinsky unleashed a new era of modernism with Le Sacre du Printemps and its primitive subject matter, barbaric dissonances and rhythms, and radical style. This lecture will discuss the Rite of Spring’s controversial premiere and innovative musical characteristics that influenced generations of composers, choreographers, chroniclers, poets, and artists.
Ben Arnold
On Monday, August 4, Emory music professor and jazz musician Dwight Andrews will present “Jazz Meets Classical: Uncovering the Hidden Connections Between America’s and Europe’s Musical Traditions.” Andrews will explore the relationship between “America’s classical music” and the classical music of the European tradition. His presentation will include musical excerpts, provocative observations from musicians, and engagement with attendees to “hear” the connections when “Jazz Meets Classical.”
For more information, or to register for these and other CLE programs, visit clehighlands.com.
Pictured | Tom Deli
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