MASTERS OF COMPOSITION - H Broadway and Hollywood may never again see the likes of the gifted Jewish composers of musicals whose names have blazed from the marquee and the screen. Some of the earlier greats were Kurt Weill who gave us The Three Penny Opera and Street Scene, and Richard Rodgers of Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The Sound of Music and The King and I fame. Frederick Loewe produced My Fair Lady, Gigi and Camelot with lyricist Alan Jay Lerner, while Harold Arlen scored magical music for The Wizard of Oz and A Star is Born. Others were Jule Styne who sired such masterworks as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Gypsy and Funny Girl, and Frank Loesser whose endearing Guys and Dolls and Most Happy Fella topped his ten major productions. Also included are Jerry Bock, the Broadway triple crown and Pulitzer Prize winner best known for Fiddler on the Roof as well as Stephen Sondheim, the lyricist-composer in spirited form with A Little Night Music and Sweeney Todd. SRO audiences have equally hailed: GEORGE GERSHWIN (1898-1937) b. Brooklyn, NY The opening bars of Rhapsody in Blue recall to most jazz and blues fanciers the genius of the composer who enriched the standards of popular music here and abroad. The songs of George Gershwin became much of the basis of jazz improvisation: a large body of work during a short lifespan that produced other instrumental classics like the Concerto in F and An American in Paris. One of the most talented and significant of all American composers began studying the piano at age twelve, and within four years launched his professional career as a Tin Pan 'Alley song plugger. Success came soon after when his tune, "Swanee," became a show-stopper sung by Al Jolson. Moving on to musical reviews and comedies, Gershwin's fame grew at scoring La La Lucille in 1919 and George White's Scandals (1920- 24)--followed by such stage hits as Lady Be Good!, Strike Up the Band, Funny Face and Of Thee I Sing, a musical satire and first such production to win a Pulitzer Prize. His interest in larger-scale compositions with dominant rhythmic and melodic patterns derived from jazz was satisfied when commissioned by conductor Paul Whiteman to write his Rhapsody. Creating an American folk opera was yet another goal reached by the immensely popular Porgy and Bess, Gershwin's last major work before dying of a brain tumor two years later. The lyrics of many of his most celebrated songs were written by his brother, Ira Gershwin (1896-1983). IRVING BERLIN (1888-1989) b. Mogilyov, Russia The most prolific songwriter in U.S. history laid a ermanent foundation for popular American song. Rising from poverty on the sidewalks of New York, Berlin wrote more than 1,500 songs (lyrics as well) for thirty stage and seventeen film productions during better than a half century. The landmark "Alexander's Ragtime Band" sold more than two million copies by 1915 and propelled him to fame. "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" and "Easter Parade" enlarged that fame decades later. And "God Bless America," the patriotic song that singer Kate Smith urged him to write, became our country's unofficial national anthem, earning Berlin a special gold medal from President Eisenhower. The former singing waiter who never learned to read music composed most of his works primarily on an upright piano's black keys-- with an outpouring of appealing tunes that helped shape the course of early American ragtime and jazz. What followed was almost legendary: songs contributed to several editions of the Ziegfield Follies reviews; his first full score for Watch Your Step which introduced dancers Vernon and Irene Castle (1914); and The Cocoanuts, a 1924 musical comedy featuring the Marx Brothers. Berlin went on to write stage standards such as This Is the Army, Easter Parade, Annie Get Your Gun, Call Me Madam and Mr. President. His best known movies include Top Hat, Holiday Inn and White Christmas. Said Jerome Kern: "Berlin has no place in American music. He is,,American music." Saul Stadtmauer CONNISSION FOR THE DISSEMINATION OF JEWISH HISTORY 9/3 1999 Walter & Lea Field, Founders/Sponsors Irwin S. Field, Chairperson Harriet F. Siden, Chairperson Visit many more notable Jews at our website: www.dorledor.org 16 Detroit Jewish News ROY T. BELL, 53, is a self-employed, small business owner of Bell & Associates. He has been a resident of Southfield for 23 years. Bell is married and has one child. He is on the Southfield Planning Commission, is president of Southfield Chapter of American Association of Retired Persons and is a board member of the Southfield Community Coalition for the Prevention of Substance Abuse and Violence. Bell may be reached at: 28618 Spring Arbor Dr., Southfield, MI 48076 (home) or 19785 W 12 Mile Road, Ste. 551, Southfield, MI 48076. (office)(248) 557 4997 RTB1945@aol.com - JONATHAN D. BRATEMAN, 42, is a commercial real estate broker and president of Jonathan Brateman Properties Inc. He has been a Southfield resident for 15 years. He is single. Brateman serves on the Southfield Zoning Board. He is on the State of Israel Bonds executive board and is a former board member of Young Israel of Southfield and Akiva Hebrew Day School. Brateman may be reached at: (248) 374-8000. Myron Frasier, 60, is a retired director of network technical training for Ameritech. He has been a Southfield resident for 19 years. Frasier is married and has four children. He is an incum- bent on the Southfield City Council. Frasier is a board member of the Michigan Cancer Foundation/Karmanos Cancer Institute, a consultant for the Detroit Executive Service Corps and a past president of Southfield Chapter of American Association of Retired Persons. He may be reached at: (248) 352-6246. Sylvia Jordan, 43, is director of opera- tions for Family Victory Fellowship & Victory Learning Center. She has been a Southfield resident for 13 years. Jordan is married and has two chil- dren. As a Southfield city council- woman since 1997, she has served on the Non-Profit Housing Commission and Neighborhood Services and Legislative Committee. Jordan is a past co-chair of the Black/Jewish Community Dialogue Seder of the Anti-Defamation League, Homeless and Abused Women and Children Team Director and a board member of Search for Life. She may be reached at: (248) 354-8513 (home), (248) 354-1990 (work). SIDNEY LANTZ is a Southfield city councilman who is a 34-year resident. He is single with three children. Lantz is a member of the Police and Fire Civli service Commission and Jewish War Veterans of Michigan. He's a board member of the Southfield Symphony. He may be reached at: (248) 350-9197 (home), (248) 354-9380 (office). •-\ CEDRIC L. MCSWEEN SR., 43, is a communication consultant, vice presi- dent and co-owner of G.T.I. He has been a Southfield resident for 12 years. McSween is married and has three children. He is a commissioner for the Southfield Total Living Commission and a board member or Southfield Y2K community action group and the Southfield-Lathrup Optimist Club. ELEANOR CATTRON SMITH, 44, is a self- employed litigation attorney. She has been a Southfield resident for 19 years. She is a widow with three children. Smith is president of the Southfield Housing Commission, a board mem- ber of the Southfield Non-Profit Housing Corporation and a former vice president of the Homeowners Coalition. She may be reached at: (248) 351-4811. KEVIN THREATT, 45, is a Michigan Circuit Court/Family Division Casework Services juvenile probation officer in Pontiac. He is married, has three children and is a 14-year resident of Southfield. Threatt is a member of the Southfield Parent Youth Guidance Commission, the Center Institute of Child Caring and the Wayne State University Alumni Association. He N may be reached at: (248) 559-7548 (home), (248) 926-3357 (work). ROBERT L. WILLIS JR., 52, is an assistant attorney general for the State of Michigan. He is married with four chil- dren and has been a resident of Southfield for 16 years. Willis is a former board member of United Way Community Services, former president, newsletter editor and membership chair for the local NAACP, and is currently a board member of the Lula Belle Stewart Center. He may be reached at: P.O. Box 2073 Southfield, MI 48333, (248) 354- 5331 (home) or (313) 256-2327 (work).