Porter-Phelps-Huntington Member Letter May 2019

Porter-Phelps-Huntington Foundation, Inc.

130 River Drive   Hadley MA 01035 

May 2019

Dear Family and Friends of the Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum,

The daffodils are barely out and so you may think it too early to plan your summer – but we want to get on your calendar!  Please look at the Wednesday Folk Traditions brochure for the June and July concerts at the Museum and post it on your fridge for easy reference.

You have supported these programs in past years, and we hope you will do so again this year.

I enjoy these concerts because they encourage me to listen to voices I don't hear very often.  I live in a city where hardly anyone is like me, and I work with people whose backgrounds are very different from mine.  Occasionally we talk of important things, things we need to know about each other if we are to live together respectfully.  Music is the way we say things that words cannot.  It is visceral; it touches those important things that polite society doesn’t handle very well.

With singer Evelyn Harris we hear the story of the African-American struggle and liberation.  With Fusion Nomads we hear the yearning of the young for world peace.  With “Songs of My Family” we hear the singer searching for her identity.

Wednesday Folk Traditions concerts encourage me to add my voice to the mix.  I know identity politics gets a bad rap, but people secure in their heritage do not fear the beautiful voices of others who are secure in theirs.  Rather we are enriched and enlarged.  You can hear that from the Wednesday Folk Traditions performers.  They have social and community goals as well as personal and artistic ones. 

So put Wednesday Folk Traditions at the Huntington House on your calendar for a summer evening’s concert and bring the kids!  You may even want to talk with them about why you support these programs with your financial contribution.  You and your family’s loyalty to the Museum is important to us, and we look forward to seeing you this summer.

Thank you,

Elizabeth H. Wheeler

Board of Directors

www.pphmuseum.org