Location: Jacquemin Family Foundation Hall
Speakers: Paul Glenshaw, Rick Davis, and Jim Carroll

Presented by the Lifelong Learning Institute, Manassas
This event is open to the public. For more information about the Lifelong Learning Institute, Manassas, visit lli-manassas.org

What do jazz and flight have in common? More than you might imagine. Join Paul Glenshaw, Rick Davis, and Jim Carroll for a behind-the-scenes conversation exploring To Swing Through the Sky, a multimedia presentation connecting the invention of jazz and the invention of human flight. Through music, storytelling, projected imagery, and live performance, the work traces how curiosity, courage, teamwork, and creativity transformed both American music and aviation at the dawn of the twentieth century.

This special Lifelong Learning class will feature excerpts, discussion, and reflections from the creators behind the Saturday, November 14 Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra performance. Topics include the origins of jazz in New Orleans; the Wright Brothers and early aviation pioneers; Louis Armstrong and Charles Lindbergh; improvisation; risk-taking; and how innovation emerges when people dare to imagine something entirely new. The presentation will also explore larger questions for lifelong learners: how does creativity change society? What role does curiosity play in a meaningful life? Why do art, discovery, and collaboration matter across generations?

Paul Glenshaw is an artist, writer, filmmaker, and aviation historian whose work frequently explores the intersection of technology, history, and human imagination. He is the creator and writer of To Swing Through the Sky, bringing together his passions for jazz, innovation, and aviation history into a unique theatrical experience. It’s a story of the joy of curiosity and courage.

Rick Davis is dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at George Mason University and an acclaimed theater director, writer, educator, and arts leader. His career has centered on interdisciplinary collaboration, innovation, storytelling, and the power of the arts to build community and expand human understanding. He is also a private pilot who wishes he had more time to fly.

Jim Carroll is professor of music at George Mason University and director of the Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra. A longtime jazz educator, performer, and advocate for arts engagement, Carroll has spent decades teaching improvisation, jazz history, and ensemble performance while mentoring generations of young musicians.

This class serves as an introduction to the Hylton Center Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra performance To Swing Through the Sky on Saturday, November 14 at 7:30 p.m. in Merchant Hall. George Mason University’s Veterans and the Arts Initiative is proud to provide free tickets for Veterans and Servicemembers, available in person at the Hylton Center Ticket Office with ID (up to two tickets each). Tickets for this performance are made possible in part by a grant from the Amazon Prince William County Community Fund. Attendees of the November 11 LLI lecture receive a special LLI 20% discount.