Be the Light - An Evening with Pianist Jacqueline Schwab

Pianist Jacqueline Schwab, heard on Ken Burns's new PBS documentary series The American Revolution, his Grammy-award winning Civil War and many others, will perform her newest program Be The Light in an intimate house concert in Lincoln Park. Inspired by noted poet Amanda Gorman's quintessential words, "There is always light, if only we're brave enough to see it, if only we're brave enough to be it," Be the Light celebrates music embracing hope, inner strength and change. Jacqueline's program features traditional Celtic airs and dance tunes, vintage American parlor music, Tin Pan Alley pieces, spirituals, Ukrainian, Cuban, Venezuelan and Brazilian music and more—an oasis of quiet reflection, peace and joy in these challenging times. Jacqueline will share stories about how historical tunes can speak to us today and help create a ripple effect in the world.

Jacqueline spins emotive musical stories out of the many strands in the American quilt, with community music making at their heart. Her signature playing features in over a dozen of Ken Burns' PBS documentary series, including his new The American Revolution, his Civil War, Baseball, Mark Twain, Frank Lloyd Wright, and many others, as well as in other PBS documentaries, such as The Irish in America—The Long Journey Home. She has performed at the White House for President Clinton and on national PBS with the American Pops Orchestra, and she has accompanied Scottish singer Jean Redpath on public radio's A Prairie Home Companion and on CBS's Late Show with David Letterman. She has been long known in the traditional dance world for her playing with the Bare Necessities ensemble. She has collaborated with DC's Alliance for New Music-Theatre on a production featuring recently written Ukrainian plays. Her most recent solo album I Lift My Lamp—Illuminations from Immigrant America celebrates vintage music from American immigrants. She lives in the Boston, MA area. https://www.jacquelineschwab.com

Performance link to Jacqueline's Dec. 15, 2022 performance for GBH's Holiday Celebration (short set begins 11.45): https://www.wgbh.org/music/holidayshow2022

Jacqueline will perform on a 1926 Steinway Model B grand piano.

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