Executive Director of the Monroe County History Center David Vanderstel said he was approached by members of the organization asking him to plan the event, which has happened in years past, near Carmichael’s birthday.
“We’ve had lots of inquiries about this,” he said of the event.
The event, which will take place at 202 E. 6th St. in the History Center, will include a presentation about Carmichael’s life and some of his music performed live.
Tickets for the event cost $5 for members and $10 for non-members, he said.
The event will end with a reception where people will be able to ask questions and discuss Carmichael with the presenter and performers, he said.
Sculptor Michael McAuley will be narrating the presentation. He was the man who created the statue of Carmichael that currently rests outside of the IU ?Cinema.
McAuley said he will be reflecting on Carmichael’s life, the songs he composed and his musical style.
“I am doing this to bring back the awareness of Hoagy,” he said.
Carmichael went on to be a household name, and this presentation is reviving that, McAuley said.
“For this group, I will be bringing out additional information about his life,” McAuley said.
Though he said he didn’t want to give away too much information, McAuley said he would be talking about things such as Carmichael’s connection with Bob Dylan. In this way, McAuley hopes to bring new information to even those locals familiar with Carmichael.
He said his love for Carmichael’s music came from listening to him sing his own works.
It sounds authentic, personal, soulful, McAuley said.
“It was, for me, just the voice that compelled me to be interested in the man and not just the music,” he said.
McAuley, an IU graduate, said when he realized there was nothing to stand as a tribute to Carmichael, he felt he had to change that by creating a sculpture of Carmichael in his prime.
To create a tribute to Carmichael’s life and legacy, McAuley said he had to work to create the personable, likable and casual person ?Carmichael was.
Though he said Carmichael would have preferred a stand-up piano, he said he seated him at a grand piano to reflect his concert-oriented performances and for logistical purposes.
The sculpture shows Carmichael sitting with unfinished sheet music, wearing a candid look, rolled up sleeves and his iconic fedora, he said.
“It’s like you’re looking at him, really at work, composing a song,” he said.
From concept to completion, the sculpture took a year, McAuley said. People had suggested a more abstract design for the piano, but he said he felt the statue needed to be the whole package. It was dedicated in 2007, and McAuley said he expects it will stay there for years to come.
“There’s a great amount of pride that Hoagy came from Bloomington, went to IU,” he said.
A fellow Carmichael appreciator, pianist Mark Weidenmayer approached McAuley and proposed that they combine the presentation on Carmichael with live music to add to the experience. McAuley said he saw the value in this style and pursued it.
Weidenmayer, vocalist Doug James and trombonist Matthew Waterman will be performing Friday.
Weidenmayer said all three performers live in the area, and Waterman is a senior at Bloomington High School North.
Though this is his third time presenting this program, Weidenmayer said it was the first time it took place near Carmichael’s birthday.
He said his experience with Carmichael’s music started when he was young and his father brought “Stardust,” one of Carmichael’s most famous songs, home on a record.
“It’s a big coincidence that now I’m in Bloomington,” he said.
When he moved to Indiana, he said he didn’t realize Carmichael was a Hoosier.
Weidenmayer said Carmichael was an extremely influential songwriter of the jazz era despite not ?being from the South, where his style of music was more popular. His creative compositions made him a huge success.
“He’s a terrific jazz influence,” he said.
Weidenmayer said he hopes people take advantage of seeing both clips of Carmichael performing during the presentation and performers breathe life into Carmichael’s pieces again, especially because they are almost 75 years old.
“They should know what music was like from a very famous composer,” he said.
Weidenmayer said the event is informal and enjoyable for everybody in the Bloomington community.
“I’m hoping between 40 and 80 people (come to the event),” he said.
Vanderstel said the venue holds just about that many people.
He also said he hopes to make this a community-wide event, including people who aren’t members of the Monroe County Historical Society, especially students.
“He is one of those signature figures,” Vanderstel said of Carmichael.
He said he encourages people to come out to learn about Carmichael, experience his music and enjoy the evening.
McAuley said Bloomington is an artistic and cultural mecca and that because Carmichael has had such a big effect on music, anybody who wants to be musically informed should attend.
“Being a native, he certainly made a significant mark,” Vanderstel said.
