Michael G. Garber

Michael G Garber, PhD, is an interdisciplinary historian of the performing arts and media, with a focus on American popular songs of the first half of the twentieth century, and an award-winning college lecturer.

Michael has as a PhD in Theatre from the City University of New York, Graduate Center, and is trained in several other fields: the history and analysis of theater and film; in modern dance with Barbara Mettler; and extensively in the use of music and the arts for wellbeing with John Diamond, MD. Michael has been a Visiting Researcher at: the University of Colorado, Boulder; the University of Kansas; and the University of Winchester.

He makes use of his eclectic background and deep connection with the songs of Tin Pan Alley in his first book, My Melancholy Baby: The First Ballads of the Great American Songbook, 1902-1913 (University Press of Mississippi), rated “highly recommended” by Choice magazine and given a Certificate of Merit from the Association for Recorded Sound Collections. And his scholarly articles and encyclopedia entries, all focus on investigating under-examined corners in the history of jazz and Broadway repertoires. He also leads community music engagement programs with people from ages four to ninety-four. He lives with his wife in Westchester County, New York.