Raised on the overcrowded Lower East Side of New York, young George Gershwin had a life on the streets as roller-skating champion and often skipped school for secret piano lessons from an aunt. Working his way into ‘Tin Pan Alley’ as a song plugger, he had his own first hit at the age of 21 with the song Swanee. He went on to write hundreds of songs for stage and film as well as orchestral pieces and his magnum opus Porgy & Bess, first staged in 1935, less than two years before Gershwin’s death. All-comers welcome.