A musicologist whose research focuses on early twentieth-century French modernism(s), Louis Epstein received his BA in Music from Princeton University in 2006 and his PhD in Music from Harvard University in 2013.
His dissertation "Toward a Theory of Patronage: Funding for Music Composition in France, 1918-1939" explores the wealthy individuals, powerful institutions, and lucrative practices that made music composition possible during a time characterized by political and economic turmoil.
Louis has presented at regional and national meetings of the American Musicological Society, as well as at numerous other national and international conferences. Upcoming presentations include "Serious Banality in Poulenc's Le Bal masqué" at the Rethinking Poulenc conference at Keele University in June, 2013; and "Christophe Colomb and France's Official Discovery of Darius Milhaud" at the national meeting of the American Musicological Society in Pittsburgh, PA in November, 2013.
He has been recognized numerous times for his excellent classroom teaching and has presented on pedagogy research at the 2011 Music History Teaching Day Conference. His other research interests include musical nationalism and exoticism, music sociology, and historiography.