"The idea is to be as inclusive as possible," Kelly says. "It's designed to be a Core course. It's designed for people who may not know anything whatsoever about music."

Even students who have some background in music say they find the course fascinating.

"It's great. Professor Kelly is incredibly amusing," says Janna J. Hansen '97, who says she used to sing and play the piano and flute. "He's enthused about the class and enthused about the material."

"It's really an ideal introduction for people who want to learn about music but don't know much about it," she says. "It's a way to make classical music accessible."

Kelly's lectures include stories about the original performances of a musical work: the quirks of the conductor, the possible number of singers, the smaller size of the violins used at the time.

In addition to telling amusing anecdotes about the first performances of the pieces discussed, Kelly reviews some of the more technical aspects of the music, trying to make sure the students understand the music as they listen to it in the language lab after class.

Whether because of Kelly's engaging methods or the sheer attraction of the famous works of music, "First Nights" has been immensely popular.

When it was first offered last spring, 250 people showed up for the course, well above the 75 the Core Office estimated would register.

This year, enrollment jumped to around 600 and the course was lotteried to limit it to the number of seats available in Paine Hall.

"It makes me think music is alive and well in American culture," says Kelly. "I'm sorry I had to drop people out."

Kelly says he hopes that as students study the cultural background of music from the past, they will be better able to understand the place of music in our own culture.

The final lecture of the class is the first performance of a new piece of music commissioned for the course, according to Kelly. The next-to-last lecture includes a rehearsal of the same piece, at which the students can interview the composer and performers in preparation for a paper.

"They write about the performance in a way that would be useful for a sourcebook of this course in 100 years," he says.

"I want them to come out the other end thinking music can be an important part of their lives, a whole other way of thinking and feeling, using your ears as a way to get aesthetic information that can then make your life richer.