Kerrytown Concert House is delighted to welcome back its popular lecture series, The Great American Songbook: What Makes it Great?, now in its third season. Host Brent Wagner, University of Michigan Emeritus Professor of Musical Theatre, leads the exploration, while pianist Tyler Driskill, U-M Assistant Professor of Musical Theatre, brings the music to life at the Steinway — joined by guest singers from the University of Michigan Musical Theatre Department. This season opens with a tribute to George Gershwin. Gershwin was a singular figure among the creators of the American Songbook — a composer who mastered more musical forms than any of his peers, brilliantly bridging classical symphonic music and popular jazz. Working with his lyricist brother Ira, he brought a pulsating vitality to songwriting, infusing it with rhythmic drive and jazz harmonies that captivated audiences. The titles alone tell the story: “I Got Rhythm” and “Fascinating Rhythm,” the heartfelt “Love Is Here to Stay” and “They Can’t Take That Away from Me,” and one of the most lasting standards in the American songbook, “Summertime.”

Gershwin’s achievements are all the more remarkable given how little time he had to make them: he died unexpectedly of a brain tumor in 1937, at the age of 38. Yet the music he left behind has only grown in stature, performed and cherished nearly a century later. Join us as Brent Wagner and Tyler Driskill bring that music to life and explore what makes it endure.