sandra moulin

I have been playing the piano since I was three years old. I now play as part of the fascinating stories I research and write about Romantic composers and their lovers. The “Dramatic Musilogue” is my original one-woman show which showcases one Romantic composer and tells his story through the eyes of the woman he loves. One show combines the stories of all five composers, "Famous Composers and Their Muses." A new program features the story of lyricist Johnny Mercer, whose connection to other composers, singers, and film stars is fascinating. 

The seven Composer programs I perform (Chopin, Debussy, Gershwin, Rachmaninov, Johnny Mercer, Cole Porter, and Hoagy Carmichael) are educational, enlightening and entertaining. You cannot see my show without feeling the joy, pain, sorrow, and excitement of a relationship built on passion and scandal and without gaining a deeper understanding of the composer’s work influenced by the lover in his life.  

I spent over 35 wonderful years teaching high school and college French, Humanities, Literature and Drama in Michigan and North Carolina. My teaching prepared me well for the stage on which I perform today. I taught French, directed plays, coached Drama students, took students to Europe and directed French choirs. My “Dramatic Musilogue” combines the French, the drama, the music, and the story to produce a performance that transports, moves, and inspires. 

In retirement, I have returned to the classroom where I teach about the composers whose shows I perform. I have recently taught "Women of the American Songbook," and a history course, "Voices of the French Resistance," which included musicians and composers as well as other famous writers, artists and political figures. Besides the fascinating content of each lecture, students enjoy hearing compositions live as I sing and play the piano. I teach at The Education Center at Temple Beth Israel on Longboat Key and at OLLI at Ringling, Sarasota, Florida. A fun lecture at Olli in 2025 (The Last Time I Saw Paris) featured short stories about "The Lost Generation" and music of the early jazz greats like Miles Davis. January 2026 introduces the fascinating story of Cole Porter and his wife and life in Paris. 

None of my retirement careers (writing books, running fundraisers for non-profits, giving presentations) gives me greater joy and satisfaction than sharing these stories. They are my passion and my purpose. I would love to share them with you. - Sandra Moulin