Susan WelchResearcher, 1997–Present

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Susan Welch’s research has focused on William Steinway’s involvement in New York City's music life, including his attendance at concerts and opera productions. She has traced the rise and fall of German opera at the Metropolitan from 1885 through 1891, the subsequent attempt to revive German opera by the conductor Walter Damrosch in 1894, and William's support of the Damrosch Opera Company.

Welch also has researched the opera company’s performers, and its four years of local productions as well as its tours throughout the South and Midwest. In addition, she has researched the conductors of the New York Philharmonic and Steinway & Sons’ sponsorship of artists such as Rubinstein and Paderewski, including the latter’s three US tours during the 1890s and his controversial performances at the Columbia World Fair in Chicago 1893.

Welch is a native of North Carolina with masters’ degrees in both music and history. She has worked as a music teacher, music therapist, music librarian, researcher, and fund-raising events planner. She also volunteers with the Culture and Arts Division at the Smithsonian and with the Smithsonian Accessibility Program reading articles on tape from the Smithsonian Magazine. She lives in Burke, Virginia with her husband, Patrick.