From the classroom to the stage of Caffe Lena

在火博体育学院上学的一个更独特的好处是校园 邻近最长的连续经营的民间音乐场所和咖啡馆 the United States. 坐落在萨拉托加斯普林斯市中心的一个鸡棚旁边 Lena has hosted some of America’s most renowned songwriters; Nobel Prize winner Bob 迪伦，获奖的百老汇音乐剧《火博体育官网》的创作者Anaïs米切尔，还有 民间传奇人物阿尔洛·格思里和唐·麦克莱恩就是其中几个在这里演出的人. Thanks to a course taught by Distinguished Artist-in-Residence 乔尔·布朗在火博体育，才华横溢的学生词曲作者正在赚取大学学分 the stage there, too.  

当布朗教授，一位著名的古典吉他手在火博体育工作了 近四十年来，有人找他教一门歌曲创作课程，这是他的意图 是创造一个支持性的环境，让每个人都能分享他们的工作和交流 反馈. 每学期结束时，学生们都会演唱他们喜欢的原创歌曲 wrote for class to an audience for the first time at Caffe Lena.  

来自康涅狄格州利奇菲尔德的25岁学生查尔斯·德沃斯主修心理学，辅修音乐， 他决定参加布朗教授的歌曲创作工作坊，因为他听过太多了 great things about it on campus. Charles primarily plays piano but also sings and says he “dabbles” in harmonica, ukulele, and drums. Though he has written music his 在高中最后一年，他开始认真地写歌 and saw the class as a perfect opportunity to grow his talent.  

我认为作为一个词曲作者，我学到的最重要的事情是(这学期) that I often doubt myself without even knowing it; the workshop has really helped me get more confident in my songwriting and my singing.

Charles Devos '25

每周，一小群学生(每班只有大约六七个座位) is given a new theme, such as love, food, or time. They are instructed to write songs 根据提示，然后在课堂上展示他们的作品，在同学们提供的地方 advice and constructive criticism. 

Sarah Libov ’24来自新泽西州里奇伍德(Ridgewood)商科专业的她最初决定从事歌曲创作 class as a way to engage academically with a longtime hobby; she had been writing songs since she was 14 years old. “I was very interested and excited about the opportunity, e特殊的ly given how strong the Music Department is here,” s他说.  

莎拉说和同学合作写歌是她最喜欢的一件事 部分课程，因为它给学生一个拓展和组合风格的机会 with someone else. “Co-written songs are typically some of the best to come from the 学期——两个人一起写作的能量往往会创造出一些真正的东西 特殊的.”  

她表达了工作坊形式对她的学习是多么有益. “有一周，我带着一首歌曲的一段来上课，最后我完成并演奏了这首歌 在我们的节目中. 我的同学建议我把“passenger seat”这个词合并到 这首歌. 那周晚些时候，当我去完成这首歌时，这句话恰如其分， 最后我把它放在了副歌的第一句，”莎拉解释道. 

11月在Caffe Lena的演出正如预期的那样“令人惊讶”. Sarah noted, “看到这学期每个人都以不同的方式成长，我很兴奋 我和我创作的每首歌都有很深的联系，所以我表演得很开心 them onstage. 尽管这是我第三次上这门课，但这个节目已经 我最喜欢的.”  

Charles echoed Sarah’s sentiment. “It was so much fun! Everybody played so well and had a wonderful time,” 他说. 

布朗教授解释说，学期末的表现是一个很大的部分 what makes the class so fruitful.

Caffe Lena is a nationally known venue; it has a rich history of presenting some of the very best songwriters. Knowing that we are going to have the privilege of presenting 我们在那里的工作让每个人都更加认真地对待他们的歌曲创作.

乔尔·布朗, Distinguished Artist-in-Residence

教授这门课也对布朗教授产生了积极的影响. “It’s really 很高兴听到我们班在讨论一些话题时的想法。” 他说. “Time is a great example of an area where our perspectives differ. 但我 也学会了认识到每个学生的独特性，通过他们的方式 express themselves.” 

事实证明，这门课在其短暂的生命周期中取得了成功，这在很大程度上是由于 敬它为学生培养的尊重和支持的社区. Evidence of the 学生对同学的奉献精神可以从他们对咖啡馆的承诺中看到 Lena performance; this year, it occurred on the second day as Skidmania, a beloved Skidmore musical tradition. Professor Brown and several students in the course, including Charles, performed at both events.  

火博体育小型爵士乐团的学生，由萨克斯管演奏家和 音乐副教授拉塞尔·海特，也会在这个历史悠久的地方表演 hosts an eclectic range of other musical genres in addition to folk. This year’s jazz concert took place the day after 这首歌writers’ concert.  

除了莱娜咖啡馆，萨拉托加斯普林斯还有其他著名的文化场所， including the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC)和 Universal Preservation Hall; Skidmore students have partnered with both. Skidmore is also home to the acclaimed Arthur Zankel Music Center, home to Skidmore’s acclaimed Music Department.