On Saturday, May 9, award-winning music historian and educator Dr. Julia Grella O’Connell will be the guest speaker at Beth David’s monthly luncheon speaker series. Director of education and community education at the Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra since 2023, Grella O’Connell’s talk is titled “A Muse for the Masses: Aaron Copland and the American Sound.” 
“We will be getting a fantastic introduction,” organizers say, “to a highlight of the fall 2026 Philharmonic November 14 program, which will feature Copland’s ‘Appalachian Spring.’ Those of us who have had the pleasure of hearing Julia’s pre-concert chats at the Philharmonic know what a gifted speaker she is, and how much we always learn from her presentations. Her talk at Beth David on May 9 is sure to be a hit!” Full information about the Philharmonic’s 2026-27 line-up can be found on its website, https://binghamtonphilharmonic.org/m-t-bank-2026-2027-symphonic-series.
“When viewed against the background of mainstream America,” Grella O’Connell notes. “Aaron Copland, the son of Lithuanian immigrants, was the quintessential ‘other’: he was Jewish, left-leaning, gay and steeped in the popular culture of the urban streets in which he was born and raised. And yet he is largely responsible for the creation of the American sound in classical music – the simple folk-like melodies and slow-moving harmonic rhythms that immediately evoke the prairies and wide-open spaces of the American frontier. I look forward to exploring with the Beth David community Copland’s life, thought and music!” 
Grella O’Connell received a doctor of musical arts degree from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York in 2009. She has taught at Hunter College, The City College of New York and SUNY Broome, and has served as a consultant to the music departments of Illinois State University, Utah Valley University and the United Kingdom’s Cambridge University. She has been in her current position at the Philharmonic since August 2023. Her project-based work in integrated music learning across age groups has won grants from the BCC Foundation, the New York Foundation for the Arts and the Broome County Arts Council. Her book, “Sound, Sin, and Conversion in Victorian England,” won the 2019 Diana McVeagh Award for Best Book on British Music.
Beth David Synagogue’s Shabbat services begin at 9:30 am, with the luncheon and program following the conclusion of services. The monthly series, which includes the luncheon, is free and open to the community. Since its continuation depends on the generosity of contributors, Beth David welcomes donations to the Luncheon Fund. Donations can be made in honor of, or in memory of, someone, or to mark a special occasion. Those wishing an acknowledgment to be sent to the person being honored, or to the family of someone being remembered, can indicate that, along with the necessary information. Donations can be sent to Beth David Synagogue, 39 Riverside Dr., Binghamton, NY 13905, Attention: Luncheon Fund. Partial or full sponsorships of a luncheon are also available.