Michael Lasser Celebrates 100 Years of Alexander’s Ragtime Band 10/30

The New York Society Library is pleased to present award-winning radio host and music historican Michael Lasser, with soprano and piano, in a celebration of "Alexander's Ragtime Band" and other enduring songs of its era. The event takes place Sunday, October 30 at 3:00 pm at the New York Society Library, 53 East 79th Street (just east of Madison Avenue; 6 train to 77th Street).

The cost is $20 per person with advance registration, or $25 at the door. Reservations can be made at http://nyslcomehear.eventbrite.com/ or by contacting the Events Office at events@nysoclib.org or 212-288-6900 x230.

This event is generously supported by the Estate of Marian O. Naumburg.

Music historian Michael Lasser will celebrate one of the most popular and influential songs in the history of American music with the help of three performers. Irving Berlin's "Alexander's Ragtime Band" is 100 years old in 2011, and yet thousands of people can still sing every word. Berlin, a Jewish immigrant from Russia, had a genius for America, and his song contributed to an expansion of personal freedom, the liberation of women early in the twentieth century, and a new vision of a melting-pot country.

Michael Lasser is the co-author (with Philip Furia) of America's Songs: The Stories Behind the Songs of Broadway, Hollywood, and Tin Pan Alley. He is well known as the host of the nationally syndicated public radio program Fascinatin' Rhythm, winner of the 1994 George Foster Peabody Award.

Soprano Sara Holliday holds a vocal degree from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and has performed extensively with the Gilbert & Sullivan Light Opera Company of Long Island and other groups.

Pianist and singer Brenna Sage is a muti-instrumentalist, music director, composer, and performer, with numerous credits Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway. Most recently she music-directed the premiere production of Trouble: The Musical at the Midtown International Theater Festival.

The New York Society Library was founded in 1754 and is the city's oldest library. In the eighteenth century, an organization labeled "Society" meant that it was open to all-available to everyone throughout society. The Library today is open to all for reading, reference, and selected events, with circulation and other services by subscription.

The beautiful landmarked building dates from 1917 and includes reading rooms, spaces for study, stacks, and the Assunta, Ignazio, Ada and Romano Peluso Exhibition Gallery. The Library has approximately 275,000 volumes and hosts a variety of special events, reading groups, and workshops, as well as the New York City Book Awards.
Information on the Library and its history can be found at www.nysoclib.org.

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