By Susan JAMES

On April 3, Professor Ted Stern’s class in the history, understanding and appreciation of music celebrated its 500th meeting. The organization doesn’t have a fancy name and participants just call it “the music class,” but it has been full to overflowing since it began in the spring of 2001. Meant as a six-week fill-in for continuing education art classes taught by Professor Leonard DeGrassi of Glendale Community College while DeGrassi was on sabbatical in Italy, fellow teacher Dr. Ted Stern agreed to hold six classes in the appreciation of music. And, as they say, the rest is history. A very long history.

The class was so popular that on that fateful day of Sept. 11, 2001, it reconvened as a stand-alone offering for residents of the area, moving from the La Cañada Presbyterian Church to the recreation room of the Crescenta Valley United Methodist Church on Montrose Avenue. And there it has remained for nearly 17 years and 500 classes. During that time, Professor Stern has taught classes on the great composers of history, both men and women, on international music, film scoring, opera, 20th century popular music, and almost any variation or combination of notes ever constructed by a composer. Far from the standard syllabus taught in the usual college music appreciation classes, Professor Stern prides himself on collecting themes from the internet that provide the most recently published scholarship on whichever subject he’s presenting.

From the beginning, his partner in creating and organizing the class has been Dianne Thompson, a former actor and dancer who appeared alongside Barbra Streisand in the movie “Funny Girl.” Thompson’s commitment to the valley community and its various cultural endeavors inspires her work in sharing this music with so many eager and responsive students.

“I can’t put into words how rewarding it has been enriching people’s lives in this way,” she said, summing up 500 classes that call on her each week to prepare the recreation room, set up chairs, hang curtains, organize refreshments and make sure that everyone’s comfort is seen to.

The next 10-week session of Professor Stern’s musical musings will begin on Tuesday, June 5, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and costs $90 for the session. The title of this session is “Popular Music Before the 20th Century.”

“When I told my colleagues about this subject,” Stern recalled, “they were surprised that there was popular music before the 20th century.”

And that’s where Stern’s students surpass those talking heads stuck in more formulaic formats. Promising additional secrets from the internet to illuminate the pop melodies and catchy rhythms that people were whistling in 1890, Stern’s music appreciation round-up looks forward to celebrating its next 500 classes.

  susan james