About I Lift My Lamp” Vintage songs and dances of immigrant America...Pianist Jacqueline Schwab’s musical sensibilities arose from her time immersed in the rich classical and folk music scenes of Pittsburgh’s “melting pot” and later in Boston. Her signature style is hard to categorize but easy to recognize. Drawing on “the jazz/classical improvisational spirit of Keith Jarrett and the touch of George Winston ....” (New England Folk Almanac), Jacqueline spins musical stories, building bridges to connect listeners to the different cultures and strands that have formed our American music. Her distinctive playing infuses the sound tracks of Ken Burns’ Grammy-winning Civil War, Baseball, Lewis and Clark, Mark Twain, The War, among others. She has performed at the White House for President Clinton, and, with Scottish singer Jean Redpath, on public radio’s A Prairie Home Companion and on CBS’ Late Show with David Letterman.
Jacqueline graduated from the New England Conservatory in Boston, majoring in piano improvisation. She has long played for dancing with the Bare Necessities English quartet, whose group improvisational style have inspired new generations of dancers and dance musicians. She has performed her arrangements of vintage American music in almost every State of the Union. She is married to Rev. Edmund Robinson, Minister of the UU Meeting House, Chatham.
I Lift My Lamp--Vintage Songs and Dances of Immigrant America celebrates our immigrants, their vibrant spirit of community music-making, and their multicultural contributions to our heritage. Jacqueline will perform music from Scotland, Ireland, Poland, France, Eastern Europe, the African-American community, Cuba, Brazil and Argentina, along with Tin Pan Alley tunes, American anthems and more. She will reflect on growing up in Pittsburgh’s “melting pot” and the power of music to transport us into our own past and also on to new horizons.
For more information about the artist, please visit JacquelineSchwab.com