Donna Parsons of School of Music presents "The Science of Sgt. Pepper" in Des Moines

Friday, January 13, 2017

Donna Parsons
Donna Parsons

School of Music lecturer Donna Parsons gave a presentation on “The Science of Sgt. Pepper” on Jan. 10, as part of the Café Scientifique series sponsored by the Science Center of Iowa in Des Moines.

From the event description:

“The sound of Sgt. Pepper — all 39 minutes and 52 seconds of it — changed the way listeners connected with music. Released on June 2, 1967, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was so groundbreaking that radio stations played it in its entirety. Its revolutionary status was rooted in the nature of experimentation and the science of sound, creating a must-hear cultural cornerstone. Join us as we explore the Beatles’ musical creativity and the social and cultural history that informed Sgt. Pepper and its public acclaim.”

Parsons is a lecturer in the School of Music, part of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. She teaches courses on popular music and British literature. She also holds a lecturer appointment in the UI Honors Program.

The University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts and Sciences offers about 70 majors across the humanities; fine, performing and literary arts; natural and mathematical sciences; social and behavioral sciences; and communication disciplines. About 15,000 undergraduate and nearly 2,000 graduate students study each year in the college’s 37 departments, led by faculty at the forefront of teaching and research in their disciplines. The college teaches all Iowa undergraduates through the college's general education program, CLAS CORE. About 80 percent of all Iowa undergraduates begin their academic journey in CLAS. The college confers about 60 percent of the university's bachelor's degrees each academic year.