Thursdays – Felix Mendelssohn & Hector Berlioz

9/10 & 9/24 @ 2:00 PM/CH

Instructor: Ira Miller 

9/10 Felix Mendelssohn bridged Classical clarity with emerging Romantic color and expression. He revived public interest in J.S. Bach, championed earlier masters, and became a leading conductor who helped standardize the modern baton. As founder of Germany’s first universitylevel conservatory, he shaped generations of musicians. His Christian sacred works later influenced the great Jewish choral composer, Louis Lewandowski.

 9/24 Hector Berlioz transformed early Romantic music through programmatic storytelling and his signature idée fixe. He expanded the orchestra’s size and expressive range, reimagined instrumental color, and authored the influential Grand Traité instrumentation et orchestration Modernes, a cornerstone of modern orchestration.