Lecture Recitals

Music History

Bring the music to life through history, context and perspective. Enjoy a lecture recital that doesn’t feel like an encyclopedia entry. This performance is programmed around a historical narrative highlighting the big names of the time and putting them in context for today’s audience. You choose the era.

Mechanics of the Clarinet

Learn about the mechanics of the clarinet. In this lecture recital, Dr. Lapin discusses the history and background of the instrument, performance techniques and innovation in the field. Complete with musical demonstrations, this recital is perfect for a STEM crowd. It’s music. It’s engineering. It’s all about how the overtone series affects the complexity of your sound. Inquire below and let’s talk Pythagoras.

Speaking and Keynote

Dr. Lapin is a featured speaker for the South Carolina Humanities Speakers Bureau: Humanities Out Loud. Suggested keynote topics are below.

Jazz History (including any sub-genres or individual artists)
A discussion of jazz history from its inception in New Orleans through modern day. This talk can easily be tailored to fit the interests of the particular group and can include any combination of eras/styles, a broad overview, a focus on a particular style, or on individual artists and performers. Any discussion will include in-depth historical context.


Classical Music History (including any specific artists or individual composers)
Can include specific descriptions of different eras, major works, and/or individual composers. Any talk will feature in-depth historical context and stories about major composers of the time period.


Music and Politics
An in-depth look at the relationship between political structures and musical movements. Depending upon the interests of the group, this talk can include Beethoven’s Musical Treatment from Napoleon to Hitler, Baroque Music and Absolutism, Mozart and the Enlightenment, Jim Crow and Jazz, or many others.


Arts Entrepreneurship
How should we best be preparing students for sustainable lives in the arts? This talk will look at the historical role of the arts, current education models, and the skills needed for the current marketplace.

What People Are Saying

“Eric’s knowledge of the subject was WOW! You can feel his passion through his lecture.”

— OLLI student, “Jim Crow and Jazz” class at the University of South Carolina Beaufort

“Helped me to move from tapping my feet to music to a real appreciation and a better understanding of the history of Jazz! What a terrific presentation! So very well presented!”

— OLLI student, “Jim Crow and Jazz” class at the University of South Carolina Beaufort

“He represents one of the finest instructors I’ve experienced at OLLI.”

— OLLI student, “Jim Crow and Jazz” class at the University of South Carolina Beaufort