Strange Things Happening Every Day
Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1944)
Johnny Cash (1979)
Randy Newman / Toy Story (1995)

That's All, Didn't It Rain, and Up Above My Head
Sung by Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Tutti Frutti, sung by Little Richard in 1957
Lord, Don't Move That Mountain, sung by Mahalia Jackson in 1958

Guitar Solos by Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Thursday, March 10th, 2022:

Composer: Barbara Strozzi (1619 - 1677)
Italian composer and singer
Published eight collections of music

Piece: Che si può fare  ("What can you do?")
Uses poetry by Italian librettist Aurelio Aureli (1652-1708)
Song represents heartbreak and despair
This modern cover uses electric guitar, electric violin, and electric cello.

Monday, March 14th, 2022:  (Pi Day!)

Composer: Alyssa Morris (born 1984)
American oboist, composer, and teacher

Piece: Geometry, from Mathematics for Bassoon and Piano
This piece uses geometric shapes like triangles to come up with musical ideas.
This performance features Joseph Swift on piano and Calvin Hu on piano

Thursday, March 17th, 2022:

Composer: Clara Schumann (1819 - 1896)
German pianist, composer, and teacher
Composed from when she was 11 until she was about 30

Piece: Scherzo #2 in C Minor for piano
A "scherzo" is light, playful, and dance-like, but many German composers explored more intense scherzos.
This performance features Isata Kanneh-Mason, a talented young British pianist.

Monday, March 21st, 2022:

Composer: Valerie Coleman (born 1970)
African-American flutist, composer, and teacher from Kentucky
Co-founded the Imani Winds, a New York City wind quintet that pioneered diverse musicianship.

Piece: Afro-Cuban Concerto for wind quintet, Movement 2, Vocalise
This Vocalise begins as a prayer played by the horn and bassoon, and adds habanero dance elements.
This Imani Winds recording features Valerie Coleman, flute; Toyin Spellman-Diaz, oboe; Mariam Adam, clarinet; Jeff Scott, French horn; Monica Ellis, bassoon.

Monday, March 28th, 2022:

Composer: Wendy Carlos (born 1939)
American composer from Rhode Island known for her electronic music and film scores. She studies physics and music in college, and brought international attention to the Moog synthesizers.

Piece: Switched On Bach:  Two-Part Invention in Bb Major, Two-Part Invention in d minor, and Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring
These pieces were originally by German Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach.  Here, Wendy uses synthesizers to recreate the works in a modern style.