Presenter: Mick Moloney

Cross-cultural collaboration between Irish and Jewish composers and lyricists around the turn of the 20th century created the most popular songs of the era.

Moloney received a Ph.D. in Folklore and Folklife from the University of Pennsylvania. For his work in public folklore, he received a National Heritage Fellowship from the NEA, the highest honor a traditional artist can receive from the United States. In 1999, he was named "best tenor-banjo player" by Frets magazine. He has taught at several institutions in the United States and is currently a Global Distinguished Professor of Music and the Irish Studies at New York University, where his field of expertise is Celtic music in the United States. He serves as a member of the Advisory Board of the Institute of Irish-American Studies at the City University of New York.