Reviews
Harvard Friends of the Arts presents
Irving Berlin: The Voice of Everyman
November 20, 2009
The Harvard Friends of the Arts presents “Irving Berlin: The Voice of Everyman,” featuring vocalists Bobbi Carrey and Will McMillan with Doug Hammer on piano.
The concert will take place in Volunteers Hall at the Harvard Public Library on Saturday, Dec. 19. Doors open at 7 p.m.; the concert begins at 7:30 p.m.
Seating is limited, so please call the library at 978-456-4114 to reserve seats. Due to great demand, seats may NOT be available the evening of the concert, so please call ahead.
Admission is free but donations are gratefully accepted. More information at: www.harvardpubliclibrary.org.
From “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” in 1911 to “Count Your Blessings” in 1954, Irving Berlin was the voice of Everyman, putting into words and music what everyone felt to be true about their lives. On Saturday, Dec. 19, vocalists Bobbi Carrey and Will McMillan breathe new life into his wonderful music with Doug Hammer at the piano.
“‘White Christmas’ is one among 1,500 songs he composed during 60-year career,” says Carrey. “He wrote tender love songs, waltzes, Broadway showstoppers, patriotic classics and novelty songs in many genres, including ‘Alexander’s Ragtime Band,’ “Cheek to Cheek,’ ‘What’ll I Do?’ ‘God Bless America,’ and ‘There’s No Business Like Show Business.’ No one else could have spanned the distance between ‘God Bless America’ and ‘There’s No Business Like Show Business’ without showing the effort,” adds Carrey, “but Berlin did it seamlessly, merging all his efforts into a body of work that stands as a formidable model for any other songwriter.”
Israel Baline, better known by his show-biz name, Irving Berlin, emigrated as a child with his family from the Ukraine. “Because of his life experiences, Berlin was able to bridge many different segments of American culture,” says McMillan. “He understood old world, new world, military, civilian, downtown, uptown, Tin Pan Alley, Broadway and Hollywood life. “His dad was a part-time cantor. But he was also the husband of a wealthy Irish-American society gal. He served in both WWI and WWII, he wrote hugely successful musicals for Broadway such as “Annie, Get Your Gun” and movie scores such as “Top Hat” for Fred Astaire and Ginger Rodgers. His songs became windows into these different worlds.”
In appreciation of Berlin’s genius, this show by Bobbi Carrey and Will McMillan offers songs by-and stories about-Irving Berlin. And in celebration of the holiday season and the winter solstice, this show will include holiday/winter songs not only by Berlin, but also by a few of his contemporaries such as Frank Loesser, Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne.
Harvard Friends of the Arts is a subcommittee of the Friends of the Harvard Public Library and was founded in 2007 as the new Library was being built. The original impetus was to for a group of volunteers to bring performance to a great space called Volunteers Hall located in the “old” part of the new library.
The mission/vision of the HFOA is to encourage, stimulate and promote high quality, diverse professional and amateur creative talents that will enhance the quality of life of our community. We want to create a central gathering place and community resource where people support the transformative power of artist expression.