AUBURN — James Parakilas, who has recently retired as the James L. Moody Jr. Family Professor of Performing Arts at Bates College, will be the speaker at the Lewiston-Auburn Rotary Club session at noon Thursday, Nov. 16, at the Village Inn, 165 High St.

James Parakilas

Parakilas taught music for 37 years at Bates and served terms as chairman of the Music Department and the Humanities Division. He regularly gives classical piano performances in the community and beyond, and he has written several books on music, including a cultural history of the piano, “Piano Roles: 300 Years of Life with the Piano” (2000), and an undergraduate textbook on opera, “The Story of Opera” (2012).

In 2015 he joined the board of directors of L/A Arts and in March he became board chairman.

Reservations are not required at the luncheon.

FMI: 207-753-9040, mmillhime@wmca.org, www.lewistonauburnrotary.org, facebook.com/lewistonmainerotary/.