A new online learning series
Ageless Music for
Ageless Minds
Get ready to experience our live chamber music concerts with greater understanding, appreciation, and feeling. Join our resident Musicologist, Joshua Berrett, PhD - the man behind our acclaimed concert program notes - for a series of 45-min. Zoom learning sessions.
Tune in from anywhere you have an internet connection, and please come with questions. There will be time for Q&A on the topic as well as our concerts, music, and performers.
Next Session: Sunday Nov. 8th, 4pm
"Merz Immersion"
To receive zoom links to attend, please support WCMS at the Duet Level ($200) or above.
We depend on donations to sustain our programming. Ticket prices are kept low to keep our concerts accessible; they do not cover concert expenses.
If donating would be a financial hardship, please contact us so that we can qualify you for complimentary admission.
Sunday
Nov. 8
4pm
Merz Immersion
Learn about the fascinating origins of the Merz Trio and its Dada movement-inspired name. Discover how their November concert program is inspired by the astounding life of Alma Mahler, the "femme fatale" of turn-of-the-last-century Vienna, and constructed using the same method as Kurt Schwitter's art collages and installations. Dr. Josh will also explore the music Mahler might have heard, focusing especially on Beethoven's "Archduke" piano trio, Op. 97. Elements of chance, cultural exchange, and shifting identity will all make their appearance.
Sunday
Nov. 22
4pm
A Very Beethoven Thanksgiving
Beethoven's "Heiliger Dankgesang" (Holy Song of Thanksgiving) from his String Quartet No. 15 in A minor, Op. 132, is a profound musical prayer written as a personal expression of gratitude after surviving a near-fatal illness. This piece anchors our December concert program, and Dr. Josh will explore its meaning and structure while drawing comparisons to other Beethoven works, such as his earlier String Quartet No. 6 in B-flat major, Op. 18, No. 6, which heralded a shift from more traditional composition toward his late, deeply psychological style.
Sunday
Sept. 27
4pm
Past Sessions:
Fate Knocking at the Door
Take a treasure hunt through the music inspired by the start of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. “Fate knocking at the door,” as it's popularly characterized, is arguably the most famous opening in all of classical music. Included will be the Fifth Symphony itself, three of Beethoven’s string quartets, and a piano concerto. Dr. Josh will highlight the impact of the motif on other composers as well, like Schubert, Brahms, and Grieg. Special connections will be made with pieces programmed as part of the WCMS 2026-2027 season. And lurking in the background will be Beethoven’s almost lifelong struggle with his hearing.
Joshua Berrett, PhD (Dr. Josh)
Dr. Joshua Berrett earned a BA from the University of Cape Town in South Africa, an MA from Columbia University, and a PhD from the University of Michigan. He has also studied at the Manhattan School of Music, Juilliard, and the Tanglewood Music Center. He is a Professor Emeritus at Mercy University, a freelance violinist and the author of internationally recognized publications on music, with a specialty on the history of the symphony and jazz. He has made presentations nationally, appeared on NPR, and lectured abroad in such countries as Italy, Israel, and South Africa. With his wife, Lynne, he is co-founder of the non-profit Ageless Mind Project, Inc. Click here for more about Josh's connection to WCMS.