Chautauqua Academy

Paul Simon: The Art Of The Songwriter

Featuring Composer/Producer Edward Barnes

TICKET PRICE:

$50 Registration (Zoom Link) – Only ONE required per household.

Edward Barnes is back by popular demand! Gather your friends and family for an evening of entertainment and learning—all from the comfort of home! Expect fun and engaging content. You won’t be disappointed!

DESCRIPTION:

For more than six decades, Paul Simon has been one of American popular music’s most inventive and enduring songwriters. From the poetic folk-rock of Simon & Garfunkel to a solo career marked by restless experimentation and continual reinvention, Simon has repeatedly expanded the musical and lyrical possibilities of the popular song. In this virtual lecture, composer/producer Edward Barnes traces the evolution of Simon’s remarkable career while exploring the craft behind songs including “The Sound of Silence,” “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover,” “Still Crazy After All These Years,” and the groundbreaking music of Graceland. Along the way, the program explores Simon’s gift for marrying words and music, his fascination with sounds and musical traditions from around the world, and his ability to find something universal in the sharply observed details of everyday life. Discover the artistry, curiosity, and craftsmanship that have made Paul Simon one of the defining American songwriters of our time.

Speaker BIO:

Edward Barnes is an award-winning composer, lyricist, and producer. A graduate of the Juilliard School, he is the winner of Guggenheim and NEA Fellowships, and the Stephen Sondheim Award for “the creation of innovative musical theater”. His opera, musical theater and theater scores have been produced by L.A. Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Lincoln Center Theater Company, Minnesota Opera, Mark Taper Forum, San Francisco Mime Troupe, Virginia Opera, Opera Company of the Philippines, Children’s Theater Company of Minneapolis, Welsh National Opera and many more. A founding director of the L.A. based opera-fusion troupe The Metro Ensemble, Edward’s producing credits include Tracy Letts’ play, Superior Donuts, on Broadway, Ricky Ian Gordon’s opera The Grapes of Wrath (starring Jane Fonda, Nathan Gunn and Christine Ebersole) at Carnegie Hall, Gordon’s A Coffin In Egypt (starring Frederica von Stade) for Lincoln Center’s American Songbook, and live cast recordings of Kurt Weill’s Knickerbocker Holiday (Ghostlight/Sh-k-boom Records) and The Road of Promise (Naxos Records). He additionally served as Associate Producer for shows at Teatro Paseo La Plaza in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

A leading non-profit administrator, Edward has served as Executive Director of Gotham Chamber Opera, Producing Director of MasterVoices, and Managing Director of American Lyric Theater. From 2015-2023 he was the COO of the US Division of African Parks, a global nonprofit which protects and manages 22 national parks in 12 different African nations. A popular public speaker and teacher, he has presented at the Chautauqua Women’s Club, RoundTable Cultural Seminars, McKee Academic Seminars, and many universities around the US and in Canada. He is currently on the faculty of the Juilliard School.