His book Emily Dickinson's Music Book and the Musical Life of an American Poet, published by the University of Massachusetts Press, tells the story of Dickinson's early years before she was a poet, studying music, going to concerts, and collecting a great deal of published sheet music, that she had bound into a book. Looking at the music in Dickinson's bound music book gives the reader insight into Dickinson's early years and the multiple meanings that music held for her.

In 2011, George Boziwick and Trudy Williams co-founded The Red Skies Music Ensemble with the mission to present programs that combine music and scholarship, making archives and special collections come alive through research and performance.

A former oboist, George is also a harmonica player. He has performed with a variety of groups and individuals, including Irish musicians Don Meade and Brendan Dolan, blues musicians Bob Gaddy and Larry Dale, and rhythm and blues legend Roscoe Gordon.

Red Skies Music

Sunset at Water Mill Shore, Long Island, N.Y. postcard, ca. 1930.

The Music of George Boziwick

Photo By: Nick Gentile

Out of the Blues "melts pentatonic melody naturally into hints of blue note scales."

- Bernard Holland, The New York Times

First Dance for piano and marimba is "an elegant duet. This is music for everyone."

- James North, Fanfare

Since 1858 when the first piece of baseball music was published and performed, music has been a constant companion to all aspects of the game, amplifying and enlivening the stories and experiences of the fans, players, performers, composers, lyricists and music publishers who documented and celebrated the game with music. As America was searching for its own musical identity separate from European influences, baseball would be riding that same crest into the twentieth century, with the song “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” branding baseball and its music as a popular and cherished American enterprise. The partnership of baseball and music would grow stronger through two world wars, suffrage, women’s professional ball, racial integration and expansion of the game to the West Coast. These historical milestones, while familiar, are made startlingly new when viewed and expressed through a musical soundtrack. This first-of-its-kind history tells the story of baseball through the music that has accompanied the game for over a century. As the rhythms and personalities of the game continue to change, so does its music, reflecting America’s ongoing love for a game, and those who play it.

VIEW RECORDINGS

George Boziwick's works have been performed by organizations and ensembles, including the National Association of Composers, the Newport Music Festival, and the Dorian Wind Quintet. He has received grants from Meet the Composer, the Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust, and the American Music Center. He was the composer-in-residence for the Goliard Ensemble's Southeastern Music Festival (2005). His composition Magnificat is published by C.F. Peters. The work has enjoyed many performances including those at the American Guild of Organist conference and at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City. His music is recorded on the Opus One and other labels.

George Boziwick also holds a Master of Library Service degree from Columbia University. He retired from The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center in 2017, after a 31-year career as a music librarian, the last eleven years as Chief of the Music Division.

He has contributed articles to NOTES The Journal of the Music Library Association, American Music, The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, and the Routledge Encyclopedia of the Blues.

His article "'Take Me Out to the Ball Game:' The Story of Katie Casey and Our National Pastime" was published in 2012 both online and in Base Ball: A Journal of the Early Game, edited by John Thorn, the official historian for Major League Baseball.