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openLYCOMING

For 200 years, Lycoming College has been proud to serve the region, providing cultural opportunities and learning experiences. openLYCOMING delivers non-credit educational seminars and courses designed to expand and enrich the lives of community members.

Taught by current and emeriti members of the Lycoming College faculty, the program offers a wide range of courses in the arts, humanities, philosophy, local history, sciences, and special topics related to faculty research and community interest. While the content and duration of each course will differ, Lycoming's dedication to providing lifelong educational opportunities will endure.

Fall 2026

200 Years of Light Opera: From Pergolesi to the Student Prince

openLYCOMING course poster

Opera is openly viewed as an expensive, stuffy, and boring art form, meant only for the cultural elite. Gary Boerckel, DMA, professor emeritus of music, seeks to dispel these myths by looking at 200 Years of Light Opera. From La Serva Padrona of Pergolesi to Romberg’s The Student Prince and a special emphasis on the works of Offenbach, Gilbert and Sullivan, and Johann Strauss II, Boerckel introduces students to popular, amusing, and entertaining examples of light operas with the hope that appreciation may deepen for this too-often overlooked genre.

Boerckel grew up in Philadelphia, where he attended concerts and opera at the Academy of Music. He has bachelor’s degrees in music (piano performance) and European history from Oberlin College, and postgraduate degrees in piano performance from Ohio University and the University of Iowa. Boerckel taught courses in music and music history — including opera — for 33 years at Lycoming College until his retirement in 2012. He has also directed operas, operettas, and musicals at Lycoming and for the Williamsport Symphony Orchestra.

This is Boerckel’s second openLYCOMING offering, following his wildly successful History of Broadway class in 2019.

Instructor: Gary Boerckel, DMA, Professor Emeritus of Music, Lycoming College
Cost: $60 per person
Course dates: Tuesdays, November 3, 10, 17, and 24, 2026
Time: 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Location: Mary Lindsay Welch Honors Hall, Lycoming College
Lycoming College is pleased to offer a streaming option this semester for alumni only. Please indicate on your registration if you will attend in person or online.

Course Registration

Registration deadline: Friday, October 30, 2026

REGISTER

For questions, please contact Alumni Relations at alumni@lycoming.edu or 570-321-4376. Space is limited; please register promptly. 

Past Courses

  • You Say You Want a Revolution: The Birth of America, presented by Christopher Pearl, Ph.D., Professor of History, Lycoming College 
  • Plants and... with Dr. Briggs*, presented by Michelle Briggs, Ph.D., Associate Professor Emerita of Biology, Lycoming College
  • The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™*, presented by Maria Hebert-Leiter, Ph.D., Lecturer of English, Lycoming College
  • Poetry for People Who Hate Poetry*, presented by Darby Lewes, Ph.D., Professor Emerita of English, Lycoming College
  • The Historian's Witchcraft: Salen Witches Fact and Fiction*, presented by Christopher Pearl, Ph.D., Professor of History, Lycoming College 

*This course is available to stream online for a fee. To inquire, please contact Alumni Relations at alumni@lycoming.edu or 570-321-4376.