Lifelong Learning

Join us for this-six part course on the music theory behind your favorite pop songs, which we can then apply to write our own song as a class! Class #1) Hey Jude – Theory and Analysis: Join us as we dive into Hey Jude by The Beatles, exploring its harmonic structure, melodic design, and the musical techniques that make this anthem so enduring. Class #2) Collaborative Songwriting Workshop #1: In this hands-on workshop, we’ll kick off our collaborative songwriting journey, experimenting with melody and harmony to create an original piece together. Class #3) The Sound of Silence – Theory and Analysis: We’ll unpack Simon & Garfunkel’s The Sound of Silence, examining its haunting harmony, and lyrical phrasing. Class #4) Collaborative Songwriting Workshop #2: We'll compose a new piece together, inspired by the music analyzed so far. Class #5) What a Wonderful World – Theory and Analysis: We’ll explore Louis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World, focusing on its harmonic palette and expressive melody. Class #6) Collaborative Songwriting Workshop #3: We'll compose our final piece, using various techniques and ideas from music theory. https://youtu.be/faJ0sCZXf50

Listen Up: Seminars on Music is a weekly gathering of music lovers every Wednesday morning, hosted by AZMF’s Resident Artist, Josh Condon.  Each session combines music history, analysis, active listening, and discussion, designed to enhance your listening experience and overall music appreciation.  Listen Up covers all genres, emphasizing our common humanity across all musical styles!  Coffee and refreshments provided. A cornerstone of the violin repertoire, Brahms’ Violin Concerto in D major is both a virtuosic showcase and a deeply symphonic work. Written for his close friend, violinist Joseph Joachim, the concerto balances dazzling solo writing with rich orchestral interplay. From the bold, expansive first movement to the tender oboe-led slow movement and the Hungarian-infused finale, Brahms blends technical brilliance with heartfelt emotion. It’s a work that pushes the violin to its expressive limits while maintaining the intellectual depth and structural rigor that define Brahms’ music.

Join acclaimed performer and educator Toby Yatso for a dynamic public masterclass featuring musical theatre students from Arizona State University. With an engaging style and deep industry insight, Yatso works one-on-one with emerging artists, offering vocal and interpretive coaching in real time. Audiences will enjoy a behind-the-scenes look at the craft of musical theatre performance—watching as songs are shaped, characters are refined, and storytelling comes to life. Whether you’re a performer, student, or theatre enthusiast, this interactive session offers inspiration and education in equal measure. https://youtube.com/shorts/YtYnAtfPf-g?feature=share

Join us for this-six part course on the music theory behind your favorite pop songs, which we can then apply to write our own song as a class! Class #1) Hey Jude – Theory and Analysis: Join us as we dive into Hey Jude by The Beatles, exploring its harmonic structure, melodic design, and the musical techniques that make this anthem so enduring. Class #2) Collaborative Songwriting Workshop #1: In this hands-on workshop, we’ll kick off our collaborative songwriting journey, experimenting with melody and harmony to create an original piece together. Class #3) The Sound of Silence – Theory and Analysis: We’ll unpack Simon & Garfunkel’s The Sound of Silence, examining its haunting harmony, and lyrical phrasing. Class #4) Collaborative Songwriting Workshop #2: We'll compose a new piece together, inspired by the music analyzed so far. Class #5) What a Wonderful World – Theory and Analysis: We’ll explore Louis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World, focusing on its harmonic palette and expressive melody. Class #6) Collaborative Songwriting Workshop #3: We'll compose our final piece, using various techniques and ideas from music theory. https://youtu.be/faJ0sCZXf50

Listen Up: Seminars on Music is a weekly gathering of music lovers every Wednesday morning, hosted by AZMF’s Resident Artist, Josh Condon.  Each session combines music history, analysis, active listening, and discussion, designed to enhance your listening experience and overall music appreciation.  Listen Up covers all genres, emphasizing our common humanity across all musical styles!  Coffee and refreshments provided.   Join us for a festive and heartfelt edition of Listen Up as we explore the holiday music that means the most to you. In this special seminar, participants are invited to share their favorite holiday songs—across any genre or tradition—and tell the stories behind them. Whether it’s a childhood memory, a family tradition, or a melody that brings peace during a hectic season, every song has a story. Together, we’ll listen, reflect, and celebrate the music that brings light, warmth, and connection during the holidays. Come with a song in mind—or just come to enjoy the sounds of the season.

This series will take participants on a transformative journey -learning how to use music to maintain wellness and optimize their abilities throughout the aging process. All sessions will be experiential in order to support direct transfer into everyday life. Participants will leave each session with practical exercises and creative uses of music for both the home and the community. In addition to active engagement, each session will allow time for individual questions and homework-based discussion. Two weeks between sessions will provide participants with time to fully explore and integrate what they learn and experience in each session. All sessions take place on Tuesdays at 11:00 am. In order for participants to get the most out of this experience, this course is designed for participants to attend all six sessions. Therefore, signing up for this course means you are registered for all classes. Please consider this when before signing up, as seating is limited.  January 7: #1 Applied Neuroscience of Music: How Does Music Impact MY Brain? In this interactive session, participants will learn the science behind music and how it can optimize wellness, support injury recovery, and invigorate the aging process. The content will prepare participants for moving forward on their musical journeys within the series. Participants will be encouraged to reflect on how they currently use music and how they would like to integrate music into their daily lives based on their individual goals in order to support their own creative aging. Two: Thinking it Through: Using Music to Keep Your Brain Active and Flexible This session will explore the use of music throughout the participant’s every day life to enhance memory and cognitive functions. Participants will create useful tools for their own easy access at home, in the grocery store and anywhere they’d like! They will begin the journey of creative music making in their everyday lives. Three: Moving for Wellness In this ...

Listen Up: Seminars on Music is a weekly gathering of music lovers every Wednesday morning, hosted by AZMF’s Resident Artist, Josh Condon.  Each session combines music history, analysis, active listening, and discussion, designed to enhance your listening experience and overall music appreciation.  Listen Up covers all genres, emphasizing our common humanity across all musical styles!  Coffee and refreshments provided.   Aaron Copland’s Lincoln Portrait is one of the most iconic works of American music. Written in 1942 during World War II, the piece interweaves orchestral music with spoken excerpts from Abraham Lincoln’s speeches and letters, including the Gettysburg Address. With its open harmonies, folk-inspired themes, and stirring narration, the piece celebrates American ideals of equality, courage, and unity. Copland’s musical language—simple yet powerful—makes Lincoln Portrait not just a historical tribute but a timeless call to reflect on leadership and democracy.

This presentation by Dr. Wendy Balconi will focus on the music of Argentine tango as both the foundation and inspiration for the dance. The music truly is the magic elixir of the dance itself, and music will take center stage in our presentation. We will highlight the work of legendary Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla whose revolutionary tango compositions helped shape the genre. We will explore the role of the bandoneón, the expressive, melancholy instrument that is synonymous with tango music. In addition, we’ll explore the cultural and historical roots of tango, including how social conditions and diverse musical traditions came together to shape its evolution. This presentation will also emphasize how the improvisational nature of tango dancing and co-created experiences, rooted deeply through interpreting the music, supports: Cognitive flexibility and neuroplasticity Body awareness, balance, and functional mobility Emotional resilience and adaptability across the lifespan To further enhance the program, live Argentine tango music will be performed by guitarist Marc Adams, offering attendees a dynamic and engaging musical experience. This presentation offers a rich interdisciplinary experience, blending music appreciation, cultural history, and wellness in aging—all within the spirit of lifelong learning and community-building. https://youtu.be/pC1nJKVTloM

Listen Up: Seminars on Music is a weekly gathering of music lovers every Wednesday morning, hosted by AZMF’s Resident Artist, Josh Condon.  Each session combines music history, analysis, active listening, and discussion, designed to enhance your listening experience and overall music appreciation.  Listen Up covers all genres, emphasizing our common humanity across all musical styles!  Coffee and refreshments provided.   Often described as America’s greatest opera, Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess blends classical traditions with jazz, blues, and African-American spirituals to tell a poignant story of life in the fictional Catfish Row. Premiered in 1935, the work was groundbreaking both musically and culturally, offering a complex, human portrayal of a Black American community at a time when such representation was rare on the operatic stage. Featuring iconic songs like “Summertime,” “It Ain’t Necessarily So,” and “Bess, You Is My Woman Now,” the opera continues to provoke thought and inspire admiration for its bold fusion of art forms and social themes.

Listen Up: Seminars on Music is a weekly gathering of music lovers every Wednesday morning, hosted by AZMF’s Resident Artist, Josh Condon.  Each session combines music history, analysis, active listening, and discussion, designed to enhance your listening experience and overall music appreciation.  Listen Up covers all genres, emphasizing our common humanity across all musical styles!  Coffee and refreshments provided.   James Beckel’s Liberty for All is a compelling blend of music and narration that celebrates the foundational ideals of American democracy. Drawing from historic texts and patriotic themes, the piece pairs stirring orchestration with spoken word to explore the enduring significance of liberty and justice. With emotional weight and hopeful energy, Beckel invites us not only to remember the past but to actively engage with the present in pursuit of unity and freedom. It’s a musical reminder that the American experiment is both a legacy and a living promise.

Listen Up: Seminars on Music is a weekly gathering of music lovers every Wednesday morning, hosted by AZMF’s Resident Artist, Josh Condon.  Each session combines music history, analysis, active listening, and discussion, designed to enhance your listening experience and overall music appreciation.  Listen Up covers all genres, emphasizing our common humanity across all musical styles!  Coffee and refreshments provided.   Often overshadowed by the iconic First Concerto, Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 2 is a rich and rewarding gem. Composed in 1879, this concerto combines grandeur with lyricism, featuring an unusually collaborative second movement where solo piano joins violin and cello in chamber-like dialogue. The outer movements are filled with Tchaikovsky’s signature passion, rhythmic vitality, and soaring melodies. While less frequently performed, this concerto reveals the composer’s depth and originality, offering a fresh perspective on his genius beyond the familiar.

Listen Up: Seminars on Music is a weekly gathering of music lovers every Wednesday morning, hosted by AZMF’s Resident Artist, Josh Condon.  Each session combines music history, analysis, active listening, and discussion, designed to enhance your listening experience and overall music appreciation.  Listen Up covers all genres, emphasizing our common humanity across all musical styles!  Coffee and refreshments provided. Gustav Holst’s The Planets is a dazzling orchestral suite that explores the astrological character of each planet in our solar system (excluding Earth). Written during World War I, the piece channels a wide range of human emotion—from the relentless power of Mars, the Bringer of War, to the serene mysticism of Neptune, the Mystic. Each movement is a sonic portrait, rich in orchestral color and rhythmic innovation. Beyond its astrological inspiration, The Planets has had an enormous influence on film music and continues to captivate audiences with its vivid imagery and emotional intensity.

Join drumming veteran Dom Moio for this two-part series on Music & Culture! This class will get into the rich musical culture of Brazil. Samba, Bossa Nova, Baiao, and the instruments that go with these rhythms. Some of the instruments will include Pandeiro, Tambourin, Cuica, Surdo, Ganza and many others. This music is filled with joy and deep roots to its African traditions! https://youtube.com/shorts/ePWFinhKnzU?si=WwanlEed0SkKsRMk

Listen Up: Seminars on Music is a weekly gathering of music lovers every Wednesday morning, hosted by AZMF’s Resident Artist, Josh Condon.  Each session combines music history, analysis, active listening, and discussion, designed to enhance your listening experience and overall music appreciation.  Listen Up covers all genres, emphasizing our common humanity across all musical styles!  Coffee and refreshments provided. Concluding our series on this year's Festival Orchestra program, Gustav Holst’s The Planets is a dazzling orchestral suite that explores the astrological character of each planet in our solar system (excluding Earth). Written during World War I, the piece channels a wide range of human emotion—from the relentless power of Mars, the Bringer of War, to the serene mysticism of Neptune, the Mystic. Each movement is a sonic portrait, rich in orchestral color and rhythmic innovation. Beyond its astrological inspiration, The Planets has had an enormous influence on film music and continues to captivate audiences with its vivid imagery and emotional intensity.

Join drumming veteran Dom Moio for this two-part series on Music & Culture! Cuba has so many beautiful styles of music, from the European influence Danzon to the African roots of Rumba Gua Guan Co. Cuba’s culture is linked with food, dance, religion ,and folklore. We will listen to Cha Cha Cha, Mambo, Danzon, Rumba, Bembe. Some of the instruments include Conga Drum, Bongo, Various Cowbells, Clave, Guiro, Bata Drum. We will also experience the relationships of dance with music. Also how Cuban music haas affected Jazz from The U.S. https://youtube.com/shorts/ePWFinhKnzU?si=WwanlEed0SkKsRMk

Listen Up: Seminars on Music is a weekly gathering of music lovers every Wednesday morning, hosted by AZMF’s Resident Artist, Josh Condon.  Each session combines music history, analysis, active listening, and discussion, designed to enhance your listening experience and overall music appreciation.  Listen Up covers all genres, emphasizing our common humanity across all musical styles!  Coffee and refreshments provided. With his warm voice, intimate lyrics, and effortless guitar work, James Taylor has been a comforting musical presence for over five decades. In this seminar, we’ll dive into the storytelling and songwriting craft of Taylor’s most beloved songs—from Fire and Rain to Carolina in My Mind. What makes his music feel so personal yet so universal? We'll explore themes of love, loss, resilience, and home, while reflecting on the emotional resonance that continues to draw listeners in. Bring your favorite James Taylor song—and the story it tells you.

Steve Bergsman Presents Fabulous Female Singers of the Fifties is a one-and-half-hour, multi-media presentation that combines my discussion of the songs and singers of the 1950s with on-screen visuals and, of course, audios of the great tunes of the 1950s. The show is based on two books I wrote: All I Want Is Lovin You (about the White female singers of the era) and What A Difference A Day Makes (about the Black female singers of the era). The show moves chronologically. With the death of Connie Francis, I’ve updated the program to talk about her contributions. So, it begins with songs like Teresa Brewer’s Music! Music! Music! and Patti Page’s Tennessee Waltz from 1950 and ends with Connie Francis’s Where the Boys Are, which is actually from the 1960s. https://youtu.be/eIoWwVlM9k8

Listen Up: Seminars on Music is a weekly gathering of music lovers every Wednesday morning, hosted by AZMF’s Resident Artist, Josh Condon.  Each session combines music history, analysis, active listening, and discussion, designed to enhance your listening experience and overall music appreciation.  Listen Up covers all genres, emphasizing our common humanity across all musical styles!  Coffee and refreshments provided. Bold, introspective, and unmistakably original, Carly Simon helped redefine the singer-songwriter genre in the 1970s and beyond. From biting wit to vulnerable confession, her music spans heartbreak, empowerment, and everything in between. In this session, we’ll explore Carly’s most iconic tracks—from You're So Vain to Coming Around Again—and unpack the layers behind her lyrics, vocal style, and legacy. Come ready to share a Carly Simon song that has stayed with you—and why it still speaks today.

Listen Up: Seminars on Music is a weekly gathering of music lovers every Wednesday morning, hosted by AZMF’s Resident Artist, Josh Condon.  Each session combines music history, analysis, active listening, and discussion, designed to enhance your listening experience and overall music appreciation.  Listen Up covers all genres, emphasizing our common humanity across all musical styles!  Coffee and refreshments provided. Few artists have shaped popular music like Carole King—first as a Brill Building songwriter, then as a groundbreaking solo artist. Her 1971 album Tapestry alone changed the landscape of popular songwriting with its mix of vulnerability, strength, and melodic genius. In this seminar, we’ll explore the evolution of Carole King’s music, from early hits like Will You Love Me Tomorrow to her deeply personal solo work. We’ll also discuss what makes her songs so timeless—and so deeply human. Bring your favorite Carole King song and share what it means to you.

This four-week series will delve into the music of America and how it shaped and was part of shaping the country’s identity as it matured from its infancy to today. We’ll first look at what America inherited musically from the European roots of its Colonists and how the people and the land they encountered, once they arrived, altered or added to their musical language. How did their various approaches to religious life inform the music used in their rituals and ceremonies? One huge aspect that contributed to American music was its deep roots in specific regions of the country, and we’ll examine those contributions. We’ll ask, “Is there an American sound, and if so, what might that be?” Audio, video, and visual art examples will help illustrate this journey, exploring the creation of popular music, jazz, country, American concert music, music for the theatre, rock and roll, and the contemporary sounds of today.

Listen Up: Seminars on Music is a weekly gathering of music lovers every Wednesday morning, hosted by AZMF’s Resident Artist, Josh Condon.  Each session combines music history, analysis, active listening, and discussion, designed to enhance your listening experience and overall music appreciation.  Listen Up covers all genres, emphasizing our common humanity across all musical styles!  Coffee and refreshments provided. Orchestral pop meets futuristic rock in the genre-defying music of Electric Light Orchestra. With soaring strings, stacked harmonies, and Jeff Lynne’s unmistakable production, ELO created a sound that was both retro and ahead of its time. In this session, we’ll listen closely to hits like Mr. Blue Sky, Evil Woman, and Telephone Line, unpacking how classical influences, studio innovation, and pop sensibility fused into one of the most unique catalogs in rock history. Fans old and new—come ready to rediscover the magic.

This four-week series will delve into the music of America and how it shaped and was part of shaping the country’s identity as it matured from its infancy to today. We’ll first look at what America inherited musically from the European roots of its Colonists and how the people and the land they encountered, once they arrived, altered or added to their musical language. How did their various approaches to religious life inform the music used in their rituals and ceremonies? One huge aspect that contributed to American music was its deep roots in specific regions of the country, and we’ll examine those contributions. We’ll ask, “Is there an American sound, and if so, what might that be?” Audio, video, and visual art examples will help illustrate this journey, exploring the creation of popular music, jazz, country, American concert music, music for the theatre, rock and roll, and the contemporary sounds of today.

Hitting the road together for the first time, Jordan Wax and Jake Shulman-Ment draw from many combined decades as bearers and innovators of klezmer and Yiddish song. They masterfully traverse oceans and centuries to conjure ancestral melodies and songs, landing in a playfully genre-bending 21st century America. Their live performance, rich with musical virtuosity as well as the oral history and lore that connects their music to centuries of culture, is a testament to the magic that has sustained secular Yiddish creativity in the face of incredible odds and continues to shed a unique light on the contemporary human condition. Shulman-Ment and Wax will lead the audience through a chronological musical program starting with the oldest roots of Ashkenazi instrumental music (klezmer) and Yiddish, demonstrating how musical sensibilities and cultural context have evolved over time. In the process they’ll discuss the origins and cultural context of the music as they’ve learned from elders and give examples of the influence of cross-culture synergies with co-territorial Eastern European cultures. They’ll conclude with contemporary compositions and discuss some of what’s exciting today in the global field of klezmer and Yiddish music. https://youtu.be/MBOFYf1rKvg

Listen Up: Seminars on Music is a weekly gathering of music lovers every Wednesday morning, hosted by AZMF’s Resident Artist, Josh Condon.  Each session combines music history, analysis, active listening, and discussion, designed to enhance your listening experience and overall music appreciation.  Listen Up covers all genres, emphasizing our common humanity across all musical styles!  Coffee and refreshments provided. Is it the phrasing? The tone? The way a voice can dance around the beat or dive deep into emotion? In this seminar, we explore what defines a jazz singer—from legends like Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday to modern innovators like Diana Krall and Gregory Porter. Through active listening and discussion, we’ll examine how jazz vocalists interpret melody, use improvisation, and bring personal expression to every note. Whether you're a lifelong jazz fan or just curious, come ready to listen closely and maybe even hear your favorite voices in a whole new way.

Listen Up: Seminars on Music is a weekly gathering of music lovers every Wednesday morning, hosted by AZMF’s Resident Artist, Josh Condon.  Each session combines music history, analysis, active listening, and discussion, designed to enhance your listening experience and overall music appreciation.  Listen Up covers all genres, emphasizing our common humanity across all musical styles!  Coffee and refreshments provided. A sweeping portrait of America at the turn of the 20th century, Ragtime is a musical that blends hope, heartbreak, and history with an unforgettable score. In this seminar, we’ll explore how Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty use music—from ragtime piano to soaring ballads—to give voice to a diverse cast of characters navigating race, immigration, wealth, and justice. Through close listening and guided discussion, we’ll examine how the score deepens the show’s themes and what makes Ragtime both a period piece and a timely reflection of American identity. Bring your thoughts, your questions, and perhaps a favorite moment or lyric that’s stayed with you.

This four-week series will delve into the music of America and how it shaped and was part of shaping the country’s identity as it matured from its infancy to today. We’ll first look at what America inherited musically from the European roots of its Colonists and how the people and the land they encountered, once they arrived, altered or added to their musical language. How did their various approaches to religious life inform the music used in their rituals and ceremonies? One huge aspect that contributed to American music was its deep roots in specific regions of the country, and we’ll examine those contributions. We’ll ask, “Is there an American sound, and if so, what might that be?” Audio, video, and visual art examples will help illustrate this journey, exploring the creation of popular music, jazz, country, American concert music, music for the theatre, rock and roll, and the contemporary sounds of today.

Listen Up: Seminars on Music is a weekly gathering of music lovers every Wednesday morning, hosted by AZMF’s Resident Artist, Josh Condon.  Each session combines music history, analysis, active listening, and discussion, designed to enhance your listening experience and overall music appreciation.  Listen Up covers all genres, emphasizing our common humanity across all musical styles!  Coffee and refreshments provided. A sweeping portrait of America at the turn of the 20th century, Ragtime is a musical that blends hope, heartbreak, and history with an unforgettable score. In this seminar, we’ll explore how Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty use music—from ragtime piano to soaring ballads—to give voice to a diverse cast of characters navigating race, immigration, wealth, and justice. Through close listening and guided discussion, we’ll examine how the score deepens the show’s themes and what makes Ragtime both a period piece and a timely reflection of American identity. Bring your thoughts, your questions, and perhaps a favorite moment or lyric that’s stayed with you.

This four-week series will delve into the music of America and how it shaped and was part of shaping the country’s identity as it matured from its infancy to today. We’ll first look at what America inherited musically from the European roots of its Colonists and how the people and the land they encountered, once they arrived, altered or added to their musical language. How did their various approaches to religious life inform the music used in their rituals and ceremonies? One huge aspect that contributed to American music was its deep roots in specific regions of the country, and we’ll examine those contributions. We’ll ask, “Is there an American sound, and if so, what might that be?” Audio, video, and visual art examples will help illustrate this journey, exploring the creation of popular music, jazz, country, American concert music, music for the theatre, rock and roll, and the contemporary sounds of today.