DuBose Heyward was at the forefront of Southern literature in the early twentieth century. His novel Porgy contributed to the growing conversation about African Americans in American literature and theater. George Gershwin had been actively seeking an opera libretto when Heyward’s Porgy caught his eye. Frances Sobolak is an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan pursuing a Linguistics major and Music minor. She joined The Gershwin Initiative team in the fall of her sophomore year through the university’s undergraduate research opportunity program. In the early twentieth century, poets in Charleston, South Carolina, pioneered a literary renaissance where a group […]

The late David Bowie, a prolific and inventive singer and songwriter, grew famous for his progressive rock style. But in 1998, he did a lovely and little-known take on the old Gershwin standard, “A Foggy Day.” ~Sarah Sisk is an undergraduate English major at U-M’s College of Literature, Science and the Arts. She is working with the Gershwin Initiative as an undergraduate research assistant in the university’s UROP program. The music world has recently felt the loss of English musician and pop icon David Bowie, who died on January 10, 2016. Bowie, whose 1969 single “Space Oddity” helped establish his […]

Leslie Caron, female lead for An American in Paris (1951), is to be featured on CBS Sunday Morning this coming Sunday. This January 17, CBS Sunday Morning will be airing a piece on actress Leslie Caron, who starred alongside Gene Kelly as Lise in the 1951 movie An American in Paris. Caron recently came from London to see the current Broadway production of an American in Paris, and took part in the curtain call. The 84-year-old Franco-American actress and dancer was a ballerina in her early career. Her breakout film role was An American in Paris, and she later starred in other successful film musicals, including Daddy Long Legs (1955) and Gigi (1958). Since […]

In the ragtime-infatuated New York of 1918, George and Ira Gershwin’s lives seemed to be pulling in different directions. It only took one song to prove that a partnership between the two brothers would spell success for their musical careers. —– Sarah Sisk is an undergraduate English major at U-M’s College of Literature, Science and the Arts. She is working with the Gershwin Initiative as an undergraduate research assistant in the university’s UROP program.   The First Collaboration: The Story of “The Real American Folk Song” Most histories of George and Ira Gershwin’s popular songs begin with George’s instant hit “Swanee,” […]

Check out this blog post by Richie Gerber on George Gershwin’s busy January 1924!

December 6th at 2:00PM in the Britten Recital Hall, Earl V. Moore Building Cole Anderson presents arrangements of several of George and Ira Gershwin’s songs, George’s Preludes for Piano, and joined by pianists Siyuan Li and Nick Susi the Concerto in F.  Anderson will perform on George Gershwin’s Steinway Model A piano which has been recently restored at UofM.  Posted on our blog is our interview with Anderson about his upcoming recital and his thoughts on playing the Gershwin piano. Cole Anderson will present several Gershwin pieces on December 6th at 2:00PM in the Britten Recital Hall of the Earl […]

The Library of Congress awarded country music singer and songwriter Willie Nelson with the eighth annual Gershwin Prize, which he received at a memorable music-filled award ceremony on Nov. 15.   Singer and songwriter Willie Nelson was honored with this year’s Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. The tribute concert took place on Nov. 15 at the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. The Gershwin Prize tradition began in 2007, when the Library of Congress selected its first recipient, Paul Simon. Since then, a total of eight outstanding songwriters have been recognized by […]

Will Burton graduated from the University of Michigan’s Musical Theatre program in 2011.  Since then, he has appeared in The Music Man, Fiddler on the Roof, and My Fair Lady.  He is currently in the chorus of Christopher Wheeldon’s Broadway production of An American in Paris. In this short interview, he shares his thoughts on the Gershwins and the show. What is your role in An American in Paris? I am in the ensemble, and I understudy two of the three principal men, Brandan Uranowitz (who plays Adam) and Max Von Essen (Henri). What is it like to work with Christopher Wheeldon? Before […]

Congratulations to the 2015 Broadway production of An American in Paris, directed by Christopher Wheeldon! The Gershwin-inspired ballet-musical made a strong showing at the 2015 Tony Awards with 12 nominations and 4 wins, the latter including: Christopher Wheeldon for Best Choreography Christopher Austin, Don Sebesky, and Bill Elliott for Best Orchestrations Bob Crowley and 59 Productions for Best Scenic Design of a Musical Natasha Katz for Best Lighting Design of a Musical Congratulations to the actors, producers, and those who brought Ira and George’s music to the stage. Thank you for keeping their artistry alive! Note that the Gershwin Critical Edition’s new score and […]