Mystery and Music Seminars Offered at Bjِrklunden

From Aug. 26 – 31, Björklunden is offering the seminars “Masters of Mystery: The Great Directors of Classic Suspense Films” with Jack Rhodes, and “Classical Humor: Exploring the Element of Humor in Classical Music” with Anthony Padilla.

“Masters of Mystery” will examine Alfred Hitchcock’s directorial techniques as well as techniques of other well-known masters of the genre (such as Robert Siodmak, Billy Wilder and John Huston).

Participants will examine the importance of story, music, atmosphere, characterization, the unraveling of the mystery, and other key elements contributing to the effectiveness of the director in producing “the anticipation of the bang.”

Rhodes is a repeating seminar instructor who received a Ph.D. in English from the University of Texas at Austin and later became interested in film studies. He recently concentrated his research on the Rhetoric of Genre Films of Hollywood’s Classic Era.

Padilla will lead an exploration into the lighter and irreverent side of Classical composers in “Classical Humor.”

Seminar participants will consider theories of humor from Plato through Freud and trace the development of musical humor in the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Contemporary styles.

Padilla is a professor of piano and chamber music at the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music in Appleton. Padilla receives public and critical acclaim for performances of “enormous freshness, vitality, and poetry” (Chicago Tribune).

Seminars take place at Björklunden’s lodge, just south of Baileys Harbor. Seminar classes meet weekday mornings and some evenings.

For complete course descriptions, fees, and registration information, call 920.839.2216 or visit http://www.lawrence.edu/dept/bjork/bjorkseminars.