Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) was a giant of twentieth-century music, and arguably the greatest of English classical composers.  Gifted since childhood, he became a renowned pianist and conductor.  The compositions, however, are his prime legacy:  solo works, chamber music of every description, and a wealth of choral and dramatic music ranging from delightful works for local children (Noye’s Fludde, A Ceremony of Carols) to iconic full-scale operas (Peter Grimes, Billy Budd, A Midsummer Night’s Dream).

During the course of the Colloquy, we’ll listen to excerpts from various Britten musical works and watch scenes from the operas.  Our text for this Colloquy will be Benjamin Britten: A Life for Music, by poet and author Neil Powell.  While researching Britten, Powell lived in the coastal town of Aldeburgh, Suffolk, where the composer spent his last thirty years, and the book examines how the proximity of the sea found its way into the music.  A particular emphasis will be how Britten and his partner, the great tenor Peter Pears, survived as gay artists and conscientious objectors in the social fabric of wartime and postwar England.

Tina Spencer Dreisbach holds a Ph.D. in Musicology/Early Music Performance Practice from Case Western Reserve University, and also studied at the Baroque Performance Institute, Oberlin College, and Aston Magna Institute, Bard College.  She is Emerita Professor of Music at Hiram College in Ohio, where she taught classical music, jazz, world music, early rock and roll, writing, and several interdisciplinary courses.  She is a singer and choral conductor, plays Baroque and Irish flute, and the concertina. Tina is currently Director of Music at the First Congregational Church in Blue Hill and lives in Brooklin, where she leads the mystery book group at Friend Memorial Library.