Summer Music Series with Gil Harel: Stephen Sondheim's "Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"

With music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim (based on a book by Hugh Wheeler), Sweeney Todd is perhaps an unlikely success story. Traditionally, successful musicals do not involve grisly vigilante murder and cannibalism, but this one does – and it works. The success of Sweeney Todd is bound up in Sondheim’s remarkable score, and its warm reception can be seen in the important awards it won. These include Best Score, Best Book, and the all-important Best Musical.

Join Professor Gil Harel as we go inside the score of this unconventional and eminently popular piece of musical theater! 

About the Presenter

Gil Harel (PhD, Brandeis University) is a musicologist and music theorist whose interests include styles ranging from western classical repertoire to jazz and musical theater. Previously, he served on the faculty at CUNY Baruch College (where he was awarded the prestigious "Presidential Excellence Award for Distinguished Teaching").

Currently, he is Professor of Music at Naugatuck Valley Community College, where he has been presented with the AFT "Merit Award for Exemplary Service to the College" for 4 consecutive years. In 2020, he was honored with the coveted Connecticut Board of Regents (BOR) Teaching Award. At NVCC, Dr. Harel conducts the college chorale, a cappella ensemble, teaches music history and theory, and serves as musical director of theater productions.

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