Berklee Celebrates Broadway

For one February night, neon lights are guaranteed to shine bright in Boston as the Sovereign Bank Music Series at Berklee presents the Great American Songbook: Berklee on Broadway, featuring songs from some of the best-known musicals staged at the most famous theater halls in America.

A few of the college's finest faculty, alumni, and students will light up classics from award-winning shows like Carousel, West Side Story, Ain't Misbehavin', Phantom of the Opera, and many more.

Showtime is 8:15 p.m. at the Berklee Performance Center, 136 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston. Tickets are $20 ($15.00 for seniors) and can be purchased at the BPC box office, through Ticketmaster at 617 931-2000, or at ticketmaster.com. Call 617 747-2261 or visit berkleebpc.com for more information. The BPC is wheelchair accessible.

Berklee's annual Great American Songbook concerts pay tribute to songwriters who created the compendium of mid-20th century popular song. This year's program reads like a marquee of legends: Ira Gershwin, Rogers and Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim, and Fats Waller, among other greats.

And though the lineup comes from the Broadway catalog, the audience can expect pop, r&b, jazz, cabaret, and blues from "When You're Good to Mama" (Chicago) and "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'" (Oklahoma) to "Home" (The Wiz) and "Aquarius" (Hair). Just like the song says, "The Joint [Will Be] Jumpin'" (one of several songs to be featured from Ain't Misbehavin') as a stellar band of Berklee faculty and student musicians-including vocalists Gabriel Goodman, Donna McElroy, and Darcel Wilson-perform a bill of select masterpieces. The concert, conducted by Julius P. Williams, will include arrangements by faculty Richard Evans, Jeff Friedman, Elena Lucas, Winston Maccow, Marcus McCauley, Larry Monroe, Joseph Smith, Tom Stein and student Chen Sokolovsky.

There's sure to be something that appeals to fans of many genres with award-winning, genre-blending a cappella group Vox One and internationally known vocal group Syncopation delivering a few special arrangements for a new twist on some of the most popular and acclaimed hits in American musical theater.

The 2007-2008 Sovereign Bank Music Series at Berklee offers a wide variety of music ranging from rock, jazz, and Latin to r&b, hip-hop, and show and film tunes. Upcoming concerts include the SFJAZZ Collective and the Singers Showcase. Berklee's outstanding students, faculty, and alumni are highlighted in this unique and astonishing season.