Verso University: Behind the Notes: Classical Music from the Inside Out

Thursdays, December 3, 10 & 17 | 10:00 am - 11:00 am | December 3: Komansky Room; December 10 & 17: Brooks Place | Registration Fee: $25 (covers all three sessions)

About This Course

What does it feel like to truly hear a piece of music — not just listen, but understand what’s happening beneath the surface?

This special Verso University listening and lecture series invites classical music lovers and the classical-curious alike to experience beloved works in a whole new way. Join classical soprano and lifelong violinist Sarah Hawkey as she guides listeners through the rich history, stories, and musical language behind treasured masterworks, tracing ideas and themes across composers and centuries.

If you’ve ever felt that “lit-up” feeling hearing a favorite symphonic theme, a beloved aria, or even one unforgettable chord, you already know the joy of getting behind the notes. Along the way, you’ll hear favorite pieces with fresh ears, share in the kind of close-listening conversations musicians have with each other backstage, and come away noticing layers in music you’ve long loved but never quite heard this way before.

No musical background required — just curiosity and an appreciation for great music.

Week One: Requiem Across the Centuries (December 3): Explore how composers across five centuries have set the same sacred text to radically different music, from a 15th-century Requiem sung by voices alone to Verdi’s full orchestral fire. You’ll hear Ockeghem, Mozart, Brahms, Verdi, and Howells side by side and leave hearing this ancient form in a completely new way.

Week Two: How to Hear Form (December 10): Learn to hear the architecture behind the music — how a baroque piece, a Mozart rondo, and a full symphony are all built from the same underlying structural ideas. You’ll leave able to actually track a piece’s shape as it unfolds.

Week Three: J.S. Bach’s Musical Mastery (December 17): We close with all-time favorite composer Bach. Discover what makes his music endlessly rewarding: counterpoint, fugue, and the ground bass patterns that drive it all forward, moving from a single solo violin to the full forces of the St. Matthew Passion. You’ll come away hearing Bach’s genius with completely fresh ears.

About the Instructor

Sarah Hawkey is a classical soprano and lifelong violinist whose listening and lecture series, Behind the Notes: Classical Music from the Inside Out, unpacks the musical complexity, stories, history, and expressive depth behind beloved works of the classical repertoire. Known for bringing warmth and clarity to complex ideas, she bridges the worlds of performer and listener — offering fresh insight into how classical music lives and breathes for today’s audiences.

Sarah has performed with the New York Philharmonic, LA Opera, and Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival, with international appearances at the Salzburg and Verbier Festivals. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, on NPR, WNYC, WMNR, and PBS Great Performances. She was a member of the original cast of Ellen Reid’s opera p r i s m — produced by Beth Morrison Projects at LA Opera and the PROTOTYPE Festival — which was awarded the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Music.

A specialist in Baroque performance, Sarah’s credits as soprano soloist include Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, B Minor Mass, and Handel’s Messiah. She is a recipient of a National Endowment for the Humanities grant to study Bach’s life and work with leading scholars in Germany. Her debut solo album, featuring the music of 17th-century Venetian composer Barbara Strozzi, is underway. She is also a champion of contemporary classical music, having premiered new works by living composers and participated in numerous choral premieres with the Grammy-nominated Choir of Trinity Wall Street. Through her Fairfield County voice studio in Weston Center, Sarah mentors the next generation of singers. She hosts The Aligned Singer and has led educational programs at The Juilliard School, Princeton University, William Paterson University, and the Metropolitan Opera Guild.

About Verso University

• Classes are usually structured as a consecutive series.
• Class size is often limited.
• Each series has a one-time registration fee covering all classes in the series.
• Registration is mandatory.
• The Westport Library wants to ensure that all interested students are able to participate in Verso University courses. If the registration fee is a barrier to entry for you, please contact JConnon@westportlibrary.org.

Verso University is the Library’s lifelong learning and education initiative, serving up year-round offerings of classes, workshops, and lectures designed to further education and learning. Offerings run the gamut of educational opportunities, ranging from one-time lectures to ongoing courses to classes that meet weekly or perhaps monthly.

Verso University programs are made possible by the generous support of the Nancy J. Beard Lifelong Learning and Education Fund.

Library Refund Policy

Programs, prices, and dates are subject to change. Tickets are non-transferable between events but may be passed along to another attendee. All sales are final. Refunds are issued only if The Westport Library cancels an event outright. In the case of a postponement or reschedule, refunds are not guaranteed provided the event takes place within 12 months of the original date. Refunds, when applicable, are issued in the original form of payment.