Join us in the Library’s Community Room, where Mezzo-Soprano Rebecca Shrimpton and pianist Herman Weiss will share a fascinating program that illustrates the uniquely American confluence of classical music with popular art forms. Their selections will feature composers Leonard Bernstein, Charles Ives, Paul Bowles, William Bolcom, and Florence Price. Among other songs, they will present “A Simple Song” from Bernstein’s “Mass,” with lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, two songs from Ives’ “The Things Our Fathers Loved (and the greatest of these was Liberty),” and three songs from Bolcom’s “Cabaret Songs.” Rebecca, a classical mezzo soprano and jazz singer, is an Associate Professor of Voice at Berklee College of Music and has a Master’s Degree from New England Conservatory of Music. Herman created a Master of Music program in composition at the Longy School of Music of Bard College in Cambridge, where he chaired the department of composition for 12 years. He has a PhD in Music Composition from Brandeis University and studied composition, piano and conducting at New England Conservatory. Their recent recording project, “Passion Flower: American Art Song from Ives to Ellington,” will be released this coming year.

The program is free and open to the public; the Library’s Community Room is handicapped accessible.