THE PORTER-PHELPS-HUNTINGTON MUSEUM CONTINUES ITS 2019 SEASON OF “A PERFECT SPOT OF TEA” WITH A PERFORMANCE BY HONEST HARMONY ON SATURDAY, JULY 13TH
HADLEY, MA—The Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum continues its 2019 series of “A PERFECT SPOT OF TEA” on Saturday, July 13th with a performance by Honest Harmony, an a capella quartet. The Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum invites guests to partake in its 250 year old tradition of afternoon tea with good company, interesting conversation, and lively music. Admission is $12 per person. There are seatings at 2:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. For an additional fee, guests may also tour the Porter-Phelps-Huntington House Museum. Tours will be every hour on the half hour; at 1:30, 2:30, and 3:30.
Honest Harmony has been performing together for over a decade. The group’s a cappella performances explore a repertoire of small-ensemble singing from the 12th to the 20th century, often highlighting historical pieces and masterfully juxtaposing works of a single style, era, or composer. Their music brings audiences on “a musical journey through the last millennium.” The ensemble is comprised of soprano Barbara Matthews, alto Cindy Naughton, baritone Ijod Schroeder, and tenor John Vance.
Elizabeth Porter Phelps, a resident of the house from its construction in 1752, regularly hosted teas until her death in 1817, and noted the teas often attracted ten to fifteen couples weekly. Elizabeth’s daughter met her future husband, Dan Huntington, at one of these events. Visitors would “tarry” a while over a beverage that “cheers but not inebriates.”
The series is made possible through generous donations from area musicians, volunteer servers, restaurants, grocers, florists, and other businesses who provide the music, engagement, tea, pastries, and flowers for this program.
The “A Perfect Spot of Tea” series continues on Saturday, July 20th, with a performance by Danse Café of traditional dance music of the French balfolk and Breton repertoire.
The Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum is located at 130 River Drive (Route 47) in Hadley, two miles north of the junction of Routes 9 and 47. The Museum is open for guided tours Saturday through Wednesday from 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The house, which remains unchanged since the family’s occupancy, tells the story of six generations of prominent Hadley residents. The family, prosperous traders turned farmers, fought in both the French and Indian and Revolutionary Wars, rose to prominence in local government, and embodied a consistently progressive social consciousness. Tours highlight both local and regional narratives, from architecture, material culture, and labor, to early-American theology, economics, women’s history and social movements. For further information about tours or other programs, please call the Museum at (413) 584-4699 or visit our website at http://www.pphmuseum.org .