My love of music and my years in the music industry as a songwriter, producer and music executive have given me insights and personal stories that I love to share. My lectures include classes on Rock & Roll, Broadway, The Great American Songbook**, and much more.
Here are some of the lectures that we'll be doing for the remainder of 2025 and the first half of 2026. PLEASE NOTE: You can only register for classes through the venue, not through us and sign- ups will be available approximately 6-8 weeks before the start date of the course. We will include a registration link when it becomes available.
Steve Barri – A Career In Music (UCLA/Osher Fundraiser)
November 5, 2025, 1:00PM to 3:00PM, UCLA Extension Gayley Center, 1145 Gayley Avenue, Room 121, Westwood, CA.
To register - https://www.uclaextension.edu/sites/default/files/pdf/osher_ollie_brochure_fall_2025.pdf
Rodgers & Hammerstein, Lerner & Loewe and Rodgers & Hart – Broadway’s Dynamic Duos
Over 80 years ago, in 1943, Rodgers & Hammerstein began an inseparable partnership that produced a record number of Broadway smash musicals, including the groundbreaking “Oklahoma”. Even before that remarkable collaboration, Richard Rodgers had already teamed up with Larry Hart to become the most successful Broadway songwriters in history. Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe crafted what is arguably one of the greatest of all musicals, “My Fair Lady. But they did more, much more.
This course will examine the illustrious careers of these three dynamic duos and the shows that have come to define the Broadway musical. Join us for this celebration of Broadway’s greatest music, written by Broadway’s dynamic duos – Rodgers & Hart, Rodgers & Hammerstein and Lerner & Loewe.
(This will be a six-week course at The Skirball Cultural Center, each Thursday, January 8, through February 19, 2026 (NOTE: THERE WILL BE NO CLASS ON FEBRUARY 12TH), 1:00PM to 3:00PM, and will be in person only, not on Zoom)
The Golden Age of Variety TV
This course will take us back to television’s “Golden Age”, when every night it transported us from our work-a-day world to a realm of unequaled entertainment. Drawing on Vaudeville roots, early television gave us laughs and thrills from such iconic performers as Milton Berle, Jackie Gleason, Sid Caesar, Lucille Ball, Groucho Marx, Phil Silvers and the comedy duo of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.
We’ll focus on the variety shows, the great comedians and singers, as well as the wonderful personalities who entertained us during the first quarter century of television. From “The Ed Sullivan Show” to “The Hollywood Palace”, we’ll feature video highlights that will bring back memories of an unforgettable era.
(This will be a six-week course at The Skirball Cultural Center, each Thursday, March 5th through April 9th, 1:00PM to 3:00PM and will be in-person only, not on Zoom) ( NOTE: THERE WILL BE NO CLASS ON APRIL 2nd)
Musical Legends of Stage and Screen – Volume 1: “They’re Playing Our Song”
The title of this course pretty much says it all. We’ll look at the careers of two of the most successful producer/directors in theater history, George Abbott and his protégé, Hal Prince. We’ll feature the great songs from the hit Broadway shows of Jerry Herman, Marvin Hamlisch and Alan Menken. We’ll also review the careers of two theater legends, Liza Minnelli and Nathan Lane, as well as a look at the history of the Juke Box Musicals that are currently so popular.
If you like music from Broadway shows and movies like “West Side Story”, “Phantom of the Opera”, “A Chorus Line” and “Hello Dolly”, you’ll enjoy this look at these musical legends of stage and screen.
(This will be a six-week course at UCLA Extension Gayley Center, each Wednesday, April 8 through May 13, 2026, 1:00PM to 3:00PM and will be in person and on Zoom)
Hope you can make it to some or all of these classes.
Best regards,
Steve Barri
**People have asked what songwriters and singers are featured in the four volumes of “The Great American Songbook”. Here’s a list:
Volume 1:
The Songwriters: Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Johnny Mercer, Hoagy Carmichael, Rodgers & Hart.
The Singers: Al Jolson, Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, Eddie Fisher, Bobby Darin and Andy Williams.
Volume 2:
The Songwriters: Cole Porter, George & Ira Gershwin, Gus Kahn, Howard Dietz & Arthur Schwartz, Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn.
The Singers: Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis, Mel Tormé, Tony Martin, Rosemary Clooney, The Andrews Sisters, Glenn Miller and more.
Volume 3:
The Songwriters: Harold Arlen, Burton Lane, George M. Cohan, Dorothy Fields, Cy Coleman, Carolyn Leigh, DeSylva, Brown & Henderson, Mack Gordon, Alan & Marilyn Bergman.
The Singers: Judy Garland, Lena Horne, Sammy Davis, Jr., Perry Como, Dean Martin, Frankie Laine, Johnny Ray and a look at some big bands such as Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Count Basie and more.
Volume 4:
The Songwriters: Harry Warren, Duke Ellington, Leo Robin, Yip Harburg, Livingston & Evans, Paul Francis Webster, Henry Mancini, Vernon Duke, Bert Kalmar & Harry Ruby, Walter Donaldson, Ned Washington, Frank Loesser and Jules Styne.
The Singers: Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gormé, The Mills Brothers, Billie Holiday, Les Paul & Mary Ford, Peggy Lee and a wrap up of any songwriters or singers we’ve missed along the way.
All of the songwriters mentioned above have given us some of the best music the world has ever known.