A celebration, and reflection, on The Beatles this weekend

To mark this year?s 40th anniversary of the ?White Album? by the Beatles, Skidmore will host two special events: a panel discussion featuring distinguished authors discussing the lasting contributions of the band, scheduled on Saturday, Nov. 22; and the eighth annual ?Beatlemore/Skidmania? all-campus concert, slated for Sunday, Nov. 23.

Panelists are Allan Kozinn, New York Times critic and author of The Beatles; Walter Everett, University of Michigan scholar and author of The Beatles as Musicians; Tim Riley, National Public Radio commentator and author of Tell Me Why: A Beatles Commentary; and Jonathan Gould, author of Can?t Buy Me Love: The Beatles, Britain, and America.

Free and open to the public, the discussion begins at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22, in Filene Recital Hall. Professor of Music Gordon Thompson, author of the newly released Please Please Me: Sixties British Pop, Inside Out (Oxford University Press) will introduce and moderate the discussion.

The next day, Sunday, Nov. 23, will be the eighth annual concert titled ?Beatlemore/Skidmania.? Every other year, Thompson teaches a ?Beatles Seminar,? a semester-long analysis of the artists (through several contemporary biographies) and their work (through recordings and videos).

In connection with that course, there is an annual ?Beatlemore/ Skidmania? concert on campus. One of the biggest events at Skidmore, the concert annually draws students, alumni, faculty, staff, and community as both performers and audience. This year the concert focus will be the ?White Album,? and performers will include an eclectic assortment of student groups and soloists, as well as a number of faculty musicians.

?Beatlemore/Skidmania? begins at 3 p.m. in Filene Recital Hall. Admission is free and open to the public.