Michael Lisicky

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| birth_date = 1964

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| nationality = American

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Michael Lisicky (born 1964) is an American non-fiction writer, retail historian, journalist, and oboist with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

Career

As a department store historian, Lisicky has given lectures at the New York Public Library, Boston Public Library, Free Library of Philadelphia, Enoch Pratt Free Library, DC Public Library, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and at New York Fashion Week. He has appeared on CBS Sunday Morning and BBC World News and his works have appeared in such publications as The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Boston Globe, The Baltimore Sun, The Washington Post, and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He has contributed to newspaper articles in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Southern Living, and Fortune magazine and has worked on various projects for the History Channel.

From May 2020 through April 2021, Lisicky served as a contributing writer for Forbes.com. During the course of the year, he documented and reported on department store news and developments, from bankruptcies to perseverances. His columns focused on COVID's effects on the retail industry. Lisicky received a Forbes Favorites 2020 citation for his work on the demise of Lord & Taylor.{{cite news|last=Debter|first=Lauren|title=Forbes Favorites 2020: The Year's Best Retail Stories|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurendebter/2020/12/24/forbes-favorites-2020-the-years-best-retail-stories/|accessdate=29 December 2024|magazine=Forbes.com|date=December 24, 2020}}

As an oboist, Lisicky has been a member of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra since 2003. Prior to Baltimore, he was a member of the Richmond Symphony for fifteen seasons, and also was a musician with the former Savannah Symphony. His teachers include Alfred Genovese, John de Lancie, Peter Bowman, and Marion Norcross. He has appeared as a soloist with the Baltimore Symphony, in works by Haydn and J.C. Bach, and has performed with the Chicago Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, and the Minnesota Orchestra.{{cite news|last=Rucker|first=Patrick|title=Baltimore Symphony Orchestra does the Bach family proud|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/baltimore-symphony-orchestra-does-the-bach-family-proud/2015/02/13/7cec15b6-b395-11e4-bf39-5560f3918d4b_story.html|accessdate=29 December 2024|newspaper=Washington Post|date=February 13, 2015}}

On April 29, 2015, Lisicky organized an orchestral community concert outside the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall shortly after the murder of Freddie Gray. After several nights of demonstrations, hundreds attended the impromptu program which was reported on and broadcast locally and internationally.{{cite news|last=McCord|first=Joel|title=BSO tries to help the healing|url=https://www.wypr.org/news/2015-04-30/bso-tries-to-help-the-healing?_amp=true|accessdate=30 December 2024|newspaper=WYPR|date=April 29, 2015}} In July 2018, he was featured on the cover of the International Musician trade magazine and cited for his community outreach activities with his fellow BSO musicians.{{cite news|last=Yurco|first=Cherie|title=Oboist Michael Lisicky Builds Bridges Between Baltimore and its Orchestra|url=https://internationalmusician.org/michael-lisicky|accessdate=2 July 2018|newspaper=International Musician}} Lisicky served as a historian for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and is the author of the Baltimore Symphony's 100th anniversary book.{{cite news|last=Smith|first=Tim|title=Two new books reflect Baltimore's musical history|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/arts/artsmash/bs-ae-local-books-20151122-story.html|accessdate=22 November 2015|newspaper=The Baltimore Sun|date=November 22, 2015}}

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Life

Lisicky was born in Camden, New Jersey{{cite news|last=Wellington|first=Elizabeth|title=Mirror Mirror An Author who was sold on Wanamakers|url=http://www.inquirer.com/philly/entertainment/20101125-story.html|accessdate=25 November 2010|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|date=November 25, 2010}} and grew up in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.[https://www.afm.org/2018/07/michael-lisicky-is-building-bridges-in-baltimore/ "Michael Lisicky is Building Bridges in Baltimore"], American Federation of Musicians, July 1, 2018. Accessed October 28, 2018. "Growing up in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, Michael says he was lucky to have attended a public school with a strong music program." He is a 1982 graduate of Cherry Hill High School East[http://www.sousawinners.com/1980-1989.html Sosusa Award Winners], The Instrumentalist (magazine). Accessed October 28, 2018. "Michael Lisicky Cherry Hill High School East, Cherry Hill, NJ. Class of 1982." and a graduate of the New England Conservatory.

He currently resides in the Fell's Point section of Baltimore where, from 2007 to 2023, he served as the community's Town Crier.{{cite news|last=McCauley|first=Mary Carole|title=BSO oboist Michael Lisicky's books recall department stores of the past|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2013/11/18/bso-oboist-michael-lisickys-books-recall-department-stores-of-the-past/|access-date=19 May 2014|newspaper=The Baltimore Sun|date=November 18, 2013}} Lisicky is married to oboist Sandra Gerster and has one daughter, Jordan.

An avid runner, Lisicky received significant media attention in February 2024 for running all 1794 miles of Baltimore City public roadways.{{cite news|last=Vaughn-Hall|first=Jasmine|title=End of the Road: Runner finishes goal to trek every Baltimore street|url=https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/culture/lifestyle/michael-lisicky-running-baltimore-city-3ARH4LQRFVHLVNUA6N6ILKSSHE/|access-date=28 December 2024|newspaper=The Baltimore Banner|date=February 12, 2024}}

Works

;History

{{cite book|title=Hutzler's: Where Baltimore Shops|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEKdRus5-OQC|year=2009|publisher=The History Press|isbn=978-1-59629-828-6}}
{{cite book|title=Gimbels Has It!|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GNTbiVSPJ-MC|year=2011|publisher=The History Press|isbn=978-1-60949-307-3}}{{cite news|last=Tanzilo|first=Bobby|title="Gimbels Has It!" recalls old Milwaukee holiday cheer|url=http://onmilwaukee.com/buzz/articles/gimbelshasit.html|accessdate=19 May 2014|newspaper=On Milwaukee|date=Nov 27, 2011}}
{{cite book|title=Baltimore's Bygone Department Stores: Many Happy Returns|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8I92CQAAQBAJ&pg=PT|year=2012|publisher=The History Press|isbn=978-1-60949-667-8}}
{{cite book|title=Filene's: Boston's Great Specialty Store|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8SKIIBCVBAcC|year=2012|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=978-0-7385-9158-2}}
{{cite book|title=Wanamaker's: Meet Me at the Eagle|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=guEJUnmORDoC|date=2010|publisher=The History Press|isbn=978-1-62619-068-9}}
{{cite book|title=Woodward & Lothrop: A Store Worthy of the Nation's Capital|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tKUPRdIGwQAC|year=2013|publisher=The History Press|isbn=978-1-62619-060-3}}
{{cite book|title=Shop Pomeroy's First|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0tiwBAAAQBAJ|year=2014|publisher=The History Press|isbn=978-1-6261-9565-3}}{{cite news|last=McCormick|first=Diane|title=Dauphin County Historical Society presentation recalls Pomeroy's style|url=http://www.pennlive.com/east-shore/index.ssf/2014/11/pomeroys_presentation_dauphin.html|accessdate=5 November 2014|newspaper=Patriot-News|date=November 5, 2014}}
{{cite book |title=Baltimore Symphony Orchestra - A Century of Sound|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zZ9mjgEACAAJ|date=2015 |publisher=Baltimore Symphony |isbn=978-1-4951-7326-4}}
{{cite book|title=Remembering Maas Brothers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VqGMCgAAQBAJ|year=2015|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=978-1-4671-1473-8}}
{{cite book|title=Bamberger's: New Jersey's Greatest Store|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9FVmDQAAQBAJ|year=2016|publisher=The History Press|isbn=978-1467136440}}
{{cite book|title=Abraham & Straus: It's Worth a Trip from Anywhere|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9XQvDwAAQBAJ|date=November 2017|publisher=The History Press|isbn=978-1625858870}}