Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

Courses

Arts & Entertainment

Courses & Events

Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein & American Music

Aaron Copland (1900-1990) helped establish a recognizably American style of concert music, heard in symphonies, ballets, chamber music, film scores and other genres. One of his closest friends, Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990), was an internationally important conductor and composer who also wrote in a recognizably American style based on an eclectic mixture of influences from Stravinsky, Copland and such vernacular styles as blues and jazz. Bernstein wrote concert music, ballets and also Broadway musicals. We'll explore these two important figures in American music, their friendship and their careers. Instructor Bio: Paul Laird is a professor emeritus of musicology who taught at the University of Kansas for 30 years. He has published widely on American musical theater and taught dozens of Osher courses over the last three decades.

This course contains no sessions

Broadway Musicals of the 1950s

The 1950s were a very special decade in the history of the musical with such figures as Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe, Frank Loesser, Leonard Bernstein and Jule Styne writing such shows as "The King and I," "The Sound of Music," "My Fair Lady," "Guys and Dolls," "West Side Story" and "Gypsy" for the Broadway stage. This will be survey of the decade's most popular shows, the people who wrote them and the stars who played in them. Instructor bio: Paul Laird is a professor emeritus of musicology who taught at KU for 30 years. He has published widely on the American musical theater and taught dozens of Osher courses over the last three decades.

June 24, 2026 to July 8, 2026, Osher Institute, St. Andrews Office Facility In Person

Cartoons: From Disney to Saturday Morning to Pixar and Beyond

We started watching cartoons as children, either at the movies or on television on Saturday mornings. Many of us continue to watch them, even without children or grandchildren. We'll look at the invention of the animated cartoon in the Silent Era, the creation of a certain Mouse by a guy from Kansas City and the entertainment empire that spawned, cartoons from other studios (Betty Boop, Popeye, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tom and Jerry, Mr. Magoo, Mighty Mouse), how cartoons went to war in the 1940s and how they migrated to television, both on Saturday mornings and on "kiddie" shows on weekday afternoons. We'll review the Disney renaissance in the 1990s, with "The Little Mermaid" and "The Lion King," long-running prime-time cartoons such as "The Simpsons," recent Disney competitors (Don Bluth, Ralph Bakshi, DreamWorks), and Pixar, who led the way in computer-generated animation with "Toy Story" and "Frozen". We'll also share where we watched cartoons: the movies, television, VHS/DVD/BluRay and now streaming services like Disney+.


Instructor bio: Karl Menninger is a retired government lawyer who seems to have found an avocation teaching courses on disability law, citizenship, comedy and James Bond, among other topics. 


June 11-25, 2026, Beacon Mental Health (Clay County)

Famous Hollywood Couples

This single-session class will feature famous Hollywood couples including George Burns and Gracie Allen, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, and Jack Benny and Mary Livingston. All of these couples created personas that were adored by millions through radio and television but also had personal lives together. The instructor will share stories about each of the couples, including how their legacies continue to influence popular culture today.

This course contains no sessions

The Life and Music of George Gershwin

One of the leading musical figures in the history of the United States, George Gershwin (1898 - 1937) combined influences from Tin Pan Alley, classical music, jazz and blues into a distinctive musical style heard in his numerous Broadway musicals, songs for Hollywood films and concert works. This course explores his biography and each aspect of his musical output. Emphasis will be placed on two of his musicals ("Girl Crazy" and "Of Thee I Sing"); his opera "Porgy and Bess"; and the concert works "Rhapsody in Blue," "Piano Concerto in F" and the tone poem, "An American in Paris."

Instructor Bio: Paul Laird is professor emeritus of musicology at the University of Kansas, where two of his teaching specialties were Baroque music and music of the United States. He has published widely on such topics as Leonard Bernstein and American musical theater and won the 2021 KU Chancellor's Club Career Teaching Award. Paul has taught many Osher classes since the program's inception at KU.

June 9-30, 2026, Brewster Place In Person