OFAM 2024 in a nutshell

This summer, Oregon Festival of American Music pays tribute to the many prolific lyricists of what we like to call “the Classic Songbook”. From the poets and lyricists of Tin Pan Alley, and Broadway musicals to Jazz standards and Hollywood movies, these lyricists put words to some of the most well-known melodies of their time. We’ll feature work by Ira Gershwin, E. Y. “Yip” Harburg, Johnny Mercer, Dorothy Fields, Andy Razaf, B. G. DeSylva and more…along with lyricists who were also composers such as Irving Berlin, Frank Loesser, and Cole Porter, while including work by composers such as Richard Rogers, who primarily worked with the two famous lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II, each partnership bringing different styles of music to Broadway.
With OFAM 2024 Summer, Chuck Redd and company explore the work of these great lyricists and their partnerships with the composers we know and love throughout the years.

 

Special Notes:

  • Evening concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. and matinees at 1:30 p.m. in the Jaqua Concert Hall.
  • The Sunday, Aug. 4 Jazz Party is at 4 p.m. in the Jaqua Concert Hall.
  • Community Sing-Alongs, films and talks are in Sheffer Recital Hall.
  • Will Call and concessions are in Cole Gallery.
  • Seven of OFAM 2024’s concerts are offered twice, one performance in each week of the Festival. Six are offered once in the afternoon and the other in the evening. The seventh, Old Devil Moon, is offered twice in the evening.

OFAM Week 1

Wednesday, July 31

  • 9:30 a.m. film — Top Hat (1935), free
  • 1:30 p.m. community sing-Along — Gems from the 1920s and ‘30s, free
  • 5 p.m. talk — Fred, Ginger & RKO with Jim Ralph, free
  • 7:30 p.m. concert: A Fine Romance (also on Saturday, Aug. 10 at 1:30 p.m.)

Thursday, Aug. 1

  • 9:30 a.m. film — Hooray For Love (1935), free
  • 1:30 p.m. concert: Heart and Soul (also on Wednesday, Aug 7 at  7:30 p.m.)
  • 5 p.m. talk — Let Me Off Uptown: Andy Razaf & Dorothy Fields with Carl Woideck, free
  • 7:30 p.m. concert: Memories of You (also on Friday, Aug. 9, at 1:30 p.m.)

Friday, Aug. 2

  • 9:30 a.m. film — Singin’ In The Rain (1953), free
  • 1:30 p.m. concert — My Funny Valentine (also on Thursday, Aug. 10, at 7:30 p.m.)
  • 5 p.m. talk — Look For The Silver Lining: Buddy DeSylva & Arthur Freed with Jim Ralph, free
  • 7:30 p.m. concert — The Best Things in Life (also on Thursday, Aug. 8, at 1:30 p.m.)

Saturday, Aug. 3

  • 9:30 a.m. film —  Thank Your Lucky Stars (1941), free
  • 1:30 p.m. concert — Jeepers Creepers (also on Friday, Aug. 9, at 7:30 p.m.)
  • 5 p.m. talk — Life’s Full Of Consequence: E.Y. Harburg, by Jim Ralph, free
  • 7:30 p.m. concert — Old Devil Moon (also on Thursday, Aug. 8, at 7:30 p.m.)

Sunday, Aug. 4

  • 4 p.m. 2024 Jazz Party — Blues in the Night (cabaret seating)

OFAM Week 2

Wednesday, Aug. 7

  • 9:30 a.m. film — Robin and the 7 Hoods (1944), free
  • 1:30 p.m. community sing-along — Gems from the 1940s and ‘50s, free
  • 5 p.m. talk — Time After Time: Frank Loesser & Sammy Cahn, with Jim Ralph, free
  • 7:30 p.m. concert —  Heart and Soul  (previously on Thursday, Aug. 1, at 1:30 p.m.)

Thursday, Aug. 8

  • 9:30 am  film — Finian’s Rainbow (1968), free
  • 1:30 p.m. concert: The Best Things in Life (previously on Friday, Aug. 2, at 7:30 p.m.)
  • 5 p.m. talk — Over The Rainbow: Harold Arlen with Jim Ralph, free
  • 7:30 p.m. concert — Old Devil Moon (previously on Saturday, Aug. 3, at 7:30 p.m.)

Fri, Aug. 9

  • 9:30 a.m. film — The Fleet’s In (1942), free
  • 1:30 p.m. concert — Memories of You (previously on Thursday, Aug. 1, at 7:30 p.m.)
  • 5 p.m. talk: Too Marvelous for Words with Carl Woideck, free
  • 7:30 p.m.. concert — Jeepers Creepers (previously on Saturday, Aug. 3, at 1:30 p.m.)

Saturday, Aug. 10

  • 9:30 a.m. film — Love Me Tonight (1932), free
  • 1:30 p.m. concert — A Fine Romance, (previously on Wednesday, July 31, at 7:30 p.m.)
  • 5 p.m. talk — Thou Swell: Lorenz Hart with Jim Ralph, free
  • 7:30 p.m. concert —  My Funny Valentine (previously on Friday, Aug. 2, at 1:30 p.m.)

OFAM 2024 details

When: July 31 through Aug. 10, 2024

Where: The Shedd Institute for the Arts, 868 High St., Eugene

Tickets: By telephone at 541-434-7000, online at theshedd.org/OFAM2024

OFAM 2024 directors

Chuck Redd, OFAM 2024 music director
Lynnea Barry, guest director
Vicki Brabham, guest director
Siri Vik, guest director

OFAM History

Founded in 1992, Oregon Festival of American Music is an annual summer music festival in Eugene, Oregon that is dedicated to the championship of the classic American Songbook, as defined by the popular music created in the United States from the 1920s up to the early 1960s. Each year’s festival is based on a theme that shapes the content of the concerts, musicals, lectures, films and other events. Events include between 8-12 concerts featuring standards-based jazz and historically-informed period popular music, free film and lecture series, and a fully-staged musical, either from the golden age of musical comedy (1924-43) or the golden age of musical theater (1940-65).