Beatlemore Skidmania

Note: Beatlemore is now “Skidmania”--a new take on a beloved Skidmore institution!

For a number of years, Professor Emeritus of Music Gordon Thompson taught courses and led seminars on The Beatles that had students analyzing music, comparing biographical accounts, and placing the band in the historical-cultural context of the 1960s.

In connection with these courses, he and his students developed “Beatlemore Skidmania,” an annual concert featuring an assortment of campus musicians  that began as an informal, end-of-semester musical celebration. The two-day event became one of the biggest social and artistic phenomena at Skidmore through its 20-year run--annually drawing students, alumni, faculty, staff, and community as both performers and audience, and repeatedly filling the Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall of the Zankel Music Center to capacity.

Proceeds from tickets, T-shirts, and posters helped support Skidmore Cares' efforts to provide assistance for those in need in Saratoga County and the Capitol District and student financial aid.

In 2014, Skidmore College awarded Beatlemore Skidmania the President's Award "for embracing the educational mission and progressive spirit of the College through exemplary commitment to personal excellence, campus pride, and community service."

As of 2022, Beatlemore has been rebooted as “Skidmania”--a new take on a beloved Skidmore institution.