November is American Music Month – a time when we highlight not just on those who were born in our country, but also those who came here, bringing their culture, their voices, and their music. Pianist Jacqueline Schwab, who rose to prominence with her performance on the soundtrack to Ken Burn’s Civil War, has just released I Lift My Lamp, a CD that embraces those who made America their new home. Songs ranging from the British Isles to the southern climes, with a little Americana thrown in, are represented, including Irish ballads, Scottish reels, and Schwab’s own take on America’s sport with her own arrangement of “Take Me out to the Ballgame.” In the middle of it all is her reminder of our history with a dark and moving performance of the spiritual, “Sometimes I Feel like a Motherless Child.”
Says Schwab, “I Lift My Lamp pays musical homage to the pride of so many immigrants for their homelands. In a conversation between old and new, it honors living, community traditions not set in stone.”
We shine our spotlight on Jacqueline Schwab as she pays tribute to those who made America the rich and vibrant land that it is.
