Out of Bounds Lecture Series returns for discussion of related pop classics

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Headshot of Evan Ware
Evan Ware will speak at the R.D. Bell Hall at Brandon University on Thursday, Sept. 29 at 2:30 p.m.

BRANDON, Man. — The Brandon University (BU) School of Music’s Out of Bounds Lecture Series returns for its fifth season with an examination of the relationship between lyrics and music that gives songs their meaning.

On Thursday, Sept. 29, composer-theorist Evan Ware will look at the songs “Comme d’habitude” (As Usual) and “My Way” in his lecture “Whose Way Anyway? Similar Music, Different Lyrics, New Songs”. Paul Anka took the music from “Comme d’habitude” and wrote new lyrics, converting French pop star Claude Francois’ tale of heartbreak into Frank Sinatra’s celebration of individualistic triumph. Ware will illustrate how Anka’s lyrics changed the context of the music as “My Way” became a prime example of a category of song that is neither entirely new, nor a cover.

The lecture will run from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m., in the R.D. Bell Hall located in the Queen Elizabeth II Music Building at BU. Following the event, audience members will have a chance to chat with Ware over refreshments at a reception in the School of Music Faculty Lounge.

The Out of Bounds Lecture Series, curated by faculty members Colette Simonot, Jon-Tomas Godin and Sheelagh Chadwick, has become an important and popular addition to the School of Music’s lineup. Earlier this year, BU professors Eric Platz, Ben Davis and Derek Brown blended music, visual art and philosophy for the highly successful “You Can’t See Through White” presentation, which drew an audience of more than 80 and has earned them invitations to present in England and France.

“Music and research are being combined like never before at Brandon University,” says Greg Gatien, BU’s Dean of Music. “This year, we launched the Institute for Research in Music and Community to facilitate this exchange of knowledge and ideas. Through the study of music, we learn more about ourselves as people and as a society.

“The Out of Bounds Lecture Series has consistently extended our notions of music with its interdisciplinary approach, and I look forward to seeing what new understandings we can gain from these presentations.”

Each December, the Out of Bounds Lecture Series features presentations of the best papers by graduate Music students. The Lecture Series will take a break in the winter term to allow for three lectures on multiculturalism in Canadian arts policy by Stanley Knowles Visiting Professor, Dr. Parmela Attariwala.

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