Join Professor Gil Harel as he examines the profound and multifaceted  contributions of Jewish artists to American musical culture through the interlocking legacies of Leonard Bernstein, Bob Dylan, and Barbra Streisand. From Bernstein’s synthesis of classical, Broadway, and vernacular traditions, to Dylan’s transformation of folk and popular song, to Streisand’s commanding presence across stage, screen, and recording, these figures illuminate how Jewish immigrants and their descendants helped define the sonic identity of twentieth-century America. Drawing on historical context, musical analysis, and cultural history, the program explores themes of assimilation and difference, innovation and tradition, and the ways Jewish creativity shaped—and was shaped by—the broader American musical landscape.