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).

