Historian, advocate/activist and communications guru George Calderaro is Director of Community Relations at Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies. He’s also the Director of the new nonprofit, The Tin Pan Alley American Popular Music Project (TPAAPMP), which is kicking off with a music-filled celebration of the Project on Saturday, October 23 from noon to 4 PM, near the location that birthed American popular music. Calderaro was instrumental in 
the effort to get the remaining buildings of Tin Pan Alley landmarked (that happened in December 2019).
He formerly served as communications director of The New School, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, The Studio Museum in Harlem, and the Neuberger Museum of Art at SUNY Purchase. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Historic Districts Council, the 29th Street Neighborhood Association and Victorian Society of New York—as well as a committee member of the Landmarks50 Alliance, New York Public Radio Diversity and Inclusion New Advisory Board and quite a few more. Calderaro was also a founding member of Save Gansevoort Market Committee and Visual AIDS Night Without Light Committee.
NiteLife Exchange (NLE) asks George Calderaro (GC) Six Questions:
NLE: Your career has been anchored in communications/public relations, including a stint with the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC). Is this where your interest in landmarks preservation began?
GC: In a word: YES! I was always interested in history and architecture, and historic preservation combines two passions. The LPC, the largest and most powerful preservation agency in the nation, exposed me to the breadth of the preservation movement and landmarks throughout New York City.
NLE: How did you personally arrive at the place where you realized saving the historic buildings of Tin Pan Alley was vital?
GC: I first learned that Tin Pan Alley was the birthplace of American Popular Music on West 28th Street when I moved to the area and joined the board of the 29th Street Neighborhood Association. They were working on an expansion proposal to the LPC for the Madison Square North Historic District, which included Tin Pan Alley. Like many people, I’d always heard of Tin Pan Alley but did not know that the sheet music publishers and songwriters were on 28th Street—and unprotected from demolition. When I learned of this, I went to work to help protect the buildings, and have since been compared to “a dog with a bone.” 
NLE: Over a wide-ranging career, has this intersection with the importance of popular music in particular been of particular importance to you? If so, how?
GC: I’ve always been interested in art and culture in all media, but popular music is so pervasive in our and all cultures that its origin story in Tin Pan Alley had to be told and better known. Scholars have said the Tin Pan Alley not only created the American Popular Music industry but popular culture itself through its global reach and influence.
NLE: The Tin Pan Alley American Popular Music Project (TPAAPMP) is off and running; how did the organization begin and how is it evolving?
GC: Following more than six years of work by me and a dedicated committee—not to mention decades of efforts by other groups—we succeeded in achieving landmark designation of 47-55 West 28th Street. At that point there was such momentum to commemorate and continue the legacy of Tin Pan Alley that we created the Project to share the history of the people, events and songs of Tin Pan Alley.
NLE: What is the goal of TPAAPMP? What are the values of the project that are most important to you?
GC: We are building a dynamic community of American Popular Music enthusiasts and supporters to share the history of the people, events and songs of Tin Pan Alley, as well as support music and cultural literacy, inspiri current and future 
artists and musicians as well as the public at large. The multi-faceted story of Tin Pan Alley will be told through varied virtual and in-person means, including digital content on various platforms, exhibitions and events such as concerts and tours. The story of Tin Pan Alley—this history—will to hopefully support music and cultural literacy and inspire current and future artists and musicians as well as the public at large. I especially prize the values of multiculturism and, frankly, the scrappiness of these young talents with various backgrounds determined to share their talents with the world in new ways.
NLE: How did the concept of a Tin Pan Alley Day come about? What are expectations of what the day will bring?
GC: A concert celebrating Tin Pan Alley IS A NATURAL. We had long envisioned s celebration of the landmark designation of Tin Pan Alley in 2019 and a launch of the TPAAPMP which was sidelined by a pandemic. We imagined an afternoon with some music, lectures and tours on West 28th Street similar Save Tin Pan Alley Day, which we presented in October 2017 to draw attention to the unprotected buildings. The great work of our committee, particularly Bob Lamont and Marilyn Lester, as well as the embrace of the New York music community, has brought about a four-hour concert featuring sixty performers and speakers! The event launches and raises funds for the TPAAPMP, and my hope is that Tin Pan Alley Day 2021 will firmly establish what and where Tin Pan Alley was and what it can be for generations to come!
To learn more about Tin Pan Alley Day on Saturday, October 23, click here. To learn more about TPAAMPM, click here.
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