Teachers often like to share anecdotes with students about how they were inspired by a certain teacher or professor when they were growing up. In that spirit, AP music theory teacher Christopher Mason is bringing a beloved professor from his time in college to give students the same lecture that inspired him.

“There’s no one who is more famous than Beethoven,” Mason said. “His music is over everything that we experience. Anything that’s classical, he’s a symbol of what’s classical music, so from commercials to radio, to TV shows to movies, Beethoven is everywhere and so I think it’s music that people understand because they’ve experienced it.”

Dr. Laurie Shulman is a professional program annotator from Southern Methodist University. She has written program notes for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Chamber Music Society, and the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra among others.

Dr. Shulman will be giving her lecture “Ludwig van Beethoven: Forceful personality, eccentric, and musical genius,” in the Lecture Hall on Feb. 18 from 7-8 p.m. The event is free to all students, staff and community members. The lecture marks the beginning of the Lovejoy AP Fine Arts Lecture Series funded by the AP music theory Program, the Lovejoy High School Principal’s Fund, and the O’Donnell Foundation. The mission of the lecture series is “to provide a culturally enriching experience for students and the Lovejoy community, to expand upon and tie together the curriculum of the AP Fine Arts classes and other AP history classes, and to give students and community members exposure to leaders in the Dallas and US arts community.”

Mason praised Shulman’s lecture skills.

“Dr. Shulman is incredibly engaging and fun and witty,” Mason said. “She’s basically going to sit down and have story time with somebody who has a PhD in musicology, and she speaks in a way that’s really informed, but also accessible.”

Those interested in attending the lecture, although not required, are encouraged to RSVP to this form here.
For more information about the series or Dr. Shulman’s lecture, please visit AP Fine Arts Lecture Series or email Mr. Christopher Mason at [email protected].