Lecture Recitals

My lecture recitals focus on American Vernacular Music 1890-1930. They combine my experience as a pianist and singer with my background as a musicologist. And while I aim to make them sophisticated in their presentation, they are accessible to a wide range of audiences. These are some of the most popular programs:

• Rags, Blues and All That Jazz
An exploration of these three styles of American music tracing emergence and development. Details»

• Pioneers of Ragtime
What ragtime is, how it arose, and why it’s important. Details»

• Grace and Beauty: The Rise of Black Popular Music
Inspirational recital that explores the treasury of songs and instrumentals written by black popular composers from the Civil War to the Great Depression. Details»

• The Worlds of Rhapsody in Blue
Culminating in a performance of the work itself, this recital celebrates the diverse styles that came together to form Gershwin’s masterpiece. Details»

• My Yiddishe Momme: Jews and the Rise of American Popular Song
Explores the impact of Jewish people and culture on American popular song in the period 1890-1925. Featuring the timeless music of Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, and others. Details»

• Birth of the Blues: The Evolution and Emergence of a New Music
Drawing on ground-breaking research, Dr. Muir traces the emergence and early development of blues. Details»

• `S Wonderful: The Genius of George Gershwin
A lecture-recital exploring the multi-faceted talent of arguably the greatest of American composers, George Gershwin (1898-1937). Details»

•”I Love a Piano”: Neglected Gems of the American Parlor
Explores the neglected musical treasures created for the American parlor at its heyday 1900-1920. Details»