The Cole Porter Society Revenue

About The Cole Porter Society

Noah Griffin, co-founder and Artistic Director of The Cole Porter Society seeks to inspire and educate the younger generation, ensuring that they know and appreciate Porter's music and his unique contribution to the great American songbook. "So much of this wonderful music is sadly unknown to today's generation." " Failing to have a basic understanding of who (Porter) was and what he contributed to our cultural and musical landscape leaves us all poorer indeed...I study a Cole Porter lyric because he not only brings sophistication and wit to his composition, but a sense of melodic yearning and passion unmatched by very few songwriters of today." If through Porter, his younger audiences also discover George and Ira Gershwin, Rogers and Hart and other creators of the American songbook,Griffin says he thinks that would be a wonderful fringe benefit. Griffin plans to promote Porter's music by reaching out to high schools and universities to work with their music departments to make sure Porter is represented in their curriculums, to offer scholarships based on talent contests - and to hold more concerts and lectures, both at schools and in communities. "I want students to be able to access an emotional vocabulary achievable through song by appreciating Cole Porter's music. He could write with wit, sophistication, longing and unabashed passion. It would be great if they could be exposed to that level of communication. I want to plant the seed, even though the time of harvest may be in the future as they mature". Griffin's own appreciation of Porter's music dates to his childhood - he grew up in the 1950's listening to an eclectic mix of pop songs on AM radio, including Sinatra's hit cover of "Night and Day." He had started singing at age 7 with the San Francisco Boys Chorus. In college, he toured with the Jubilee Singers and Fisk University Choir. As a soloist with the Harvard University Choir, he auditioned for and sang with Duke Ellington.

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