Newly Released Stephen Foster Songbook Part of Annual Foster Day Celebrations

PITTSBURGH-The University of Pittsburgh's Center for American Music has compiled a new songbook of music by native son Stephen Foster, America's first professional songwriter.

Foster's life and accomplishments will be celebrated on Jan. 13 and Jan. 15, as the region marks the 146th anniversary of the famed composer's death.

"Stephen Collins Foster: Sixty Favorite Songs" (Mel Bay Publications, 2009) was edited by musicologists Joanna Smolko and Steven Saunders, both of whom received PhD degrees in music at Pitt. It features the composer's original piano arrangements with added guitar chords. His best-loved songs are represented, including "Camptown Races," "Oh! Susanna," and "Jeanie With the Light Brown Hair," as well as 17 songs never before included in a published collection. Some of the lyrics have been updated to capture the spirit Foster intended.

"This is the largest songbook of Foster's works since the 19th century," says Deane Root, Pitt professor of music, director of the Center for American Music, and Fletcher Hodges Jr. Curator of the Foster Hall Collection at Pitt. "It includes all of his best songs and nearly one-quarter of his entire output. It's a major publishing event for Foster because it fills the request by lovers of his music from all over the world for a modern, accessible edition, and because his music shows no signs of diminishing popularity. It is spread through ringtones, the 2004 Grammy-winning CD "Beautiful Dreamer: The Songs of Stephen Foster" [American Roots Publishing], television and movie soundtracks, and performances by such musicians as Bruce Springsteen."

A compilation of parlor songs, religious hymns, Civil War tunes, and ballads, the songbook showcases Foster's wide range of talent as a writer. A detailed introduction by Saunders provides biographical background on Foster as well as information on popular songs of the 19th century and an explanation of the methodology used for replacing problematic lyrics. The songbook may be purchased at the center or through amazon.com for $20.00.

Foster was born in Lawrenceville on July 4, 1826, and became a world-renowned songwriter, portraying life in mid-19th-century America through such legendary compositions as "Old Folks at Home," "My Old Kentucky Home," and "Beautiful Dreamer." He died at age 37 on Jan. 13, 1864, and is buried in Allegheny Cemetery.

The following Stephen Foster Day events are sponsored by Pitt's Center for American Music and the Allegheny Cemetery Association:

Jan. 13

10 a.m.

Temple of Memories Mausoleum, Allegheny Cemetery, 4734 Butler St., Lawrenceville

o Remarks by Thomas Staresenic, superintendent of Allegheny Cemetery;

o Medley of Foster songs performed by the St. John Neumann School Choir;

o Remarks by Deane Root, Pitt professor of music, director of Pitt's Center for American Music, and Fletcher Hodges Jr. Curator of Pitt's Foster Hall Collection; and

o Placing of wreaths at the Foster grave site.

Jan. 15

9:30 a.m.

Pittsburgh CAPA High School Auditorium, 111 Ninth St., Downtown

o Performance of selected Foster arrangements by CAPA students;

o Performance of selected Foster songs by jazz guitarist and educator Joe Negri; and

o Remarks by Mariana Whitmer, program coordinator, Center for American Music.

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