“A PERFECT SPOT OF TEA” BEGINS ITS 2019 SEASON WITH A PERFORMANCE BY ANDREW JENKINS ON SATURDAY, JULY 6TH.

The Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum kicks off its 2019 series of  “A PERFECT SPOT OF TEA” on Saturday, July 6th with a performance by Andrew Jenkins. 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. 

During tea on Saturday, July 6th, Andrew Jenkins will perform his original jazz pieces and jazz adaptations of Bach, as well as "modal meditations" suited to the atmosphere of the museum. Formerly of the New York area, Jenkins studied music and guitar at Berklee College in the 1980’s. As a long-term Pioneer Valley resident, Jenkins has become a regular performer in the area. In addition, he hosts and produces the local TV access show Thoughts and Sounds from New England.

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 13th, with a performance by Honest Harmony, an a cappella quartet performing music from the 12th-20th centuries. Teas are every Saturday through August 24th. 

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.

THE PORTER-PHELPS-HUNTINGTON MUSEUM PRESENTS THE SWEET MANDOLIN ENSEMBLE ON JULY 28TH, 2019

Around the end of the 19th century, dozens of mandolin orchestras sprang up in Massachusetts and New England. Now, one local ensemble revives that tradition. The Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum is excited to welcome the Sweet Mandolin Ensemble for a special afternoon performance on Sunday, July 28th from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m in the Corn Barn. Admission to the concert is free, however donations are greatly appreciated.

The Sweet Mandolin Ensemble was formed in 2014 by Adam Sweet, who has taught fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and banjo locally since 1986. The group is based in Granby, Massachusetts and recently made Sweet Mandolin Ensemble its official name. Formerly known as the South Hadley Mandolin Orchestra and a part of Mandolin New England, Sweet and his co-performers have given concerts at The Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum since 2015. The ensemble performs Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical works and includes a wide variety of its namesake instrument, such as the mandola and mandobass and Mando Mo Strings instruments like “The Whale,” a hand-carved F5-style mandocello. On July 28th, the ensemble will perform the World's Premier of the Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 for two Mandolas, featuring the Higginsonic 8 and 10 string instruments, and Mozart's Dissonance Quartet featuring "The Whale" mandocello. Performed by musicians world-wide since 1721, the last of the six Brandenburg Concertos originally featured “two viole da braccio, two viole da gamba, cello, violone, and harpsichord.” It comes to life anew with this first-ever mandola arrangement.

The Museum itself has a link to these fretted instruments; the Long Room in the home displays an ornate mandola supposedly given to Elizabeth Whiting Phelps by her brother around the year 1790. To see this and other collections currently on display, guests may tour the Porter-Phelps-Huntington House Museum on the day of the concert. Tours will be held at 1:00 p.m. and immediately following the performance. Admission for a guided tour is $5.

Sweet’s Irish music ensemble Celtic Calamity will also be performing at the Museum’s final “A Perfect Spot of Tea” event on August 24th.

The house, which remains largely unchanged since the family’s occupancy, tells the story of six generations of prominent Hadley residents. Porter, Phelps, and Huntington family members were prosperous traders turned farmers who fought in both the Seven Years’ War and the Revolutionary War, rose to prominence in local government, and embodied a consistently progressive social consciousness. Tours highlight both local and regional narratives, ranging in focus from architecture, material culture, and labor, to early-American theology, economics, and social movements.

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. and by appointment. For further information about tours or other programs, please call the Museum at (413) 584-4699.

https://www.pphmuseum.org/mandolin-new-england

THE PORTER-PHELPS-HUNTINGTON MUSEUM ANNOUNCES ITS 2019 SEASON OF “A PERFECT SPOT OF TEA” ON SATURDAYS IN JULY AND AUGUST

PORTER-PHELPS-HUNTINGTON FOUNDATION, INC.

130 RIVER DRIVE HADLEY MA 01035

HADLEY, MA—Afternoon tea with good company, interesting conversation, and lively music has been a tradition at the Porter-Phelps-Huntington House for over two hundred and fifty years. Elizabeth Porter Phelps, a resident of the house from its construction in 1752 until her death in 1817, noted the teas often attracted ten to fifteen couples weekly. Visitors would “tarry” a while over a beverage that “cheers but not inebriates.” Elizabeth’s daughter met her future husband, Dan Huntington, at one of these events.

The Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum invites guests to partake in this colonial tradition once again at “A PERFECT SPOT OF TEA”. The summer series will run every Saturday from July 6th through August 24th, 2019. Visitors are invited to drink Earl Grey tea, sample delicious pastries from locally-owned businesses, and enjoy live music on the Museum’s back veranda. 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. Come to “A Perfect Spot of Tea” and engage with communities past and present!

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 are hourly beginning at 1:30 pm. 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 Seven Years’ War and Revolutionary War, rose to prominence in local government, and embodied a consistently progressive social consciousness. Tours highlight both local and regional narratives, ranging in focus from architecture, material culture, and labor, to early American theology, economics, and social movements.

The Museum is open for guided tours Saturday through Wednesday from 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and by appointment. Tours are $5 for adults, $1 for children under twelve. For further information about tours or other programs, please call the Museum at (413) 584-4699.

Recognizing Juneteenth

On February 7 of 1768, Elizabeth Porter Phelps wrote that “this day a Negro man that was my father’s who ran away from my mother [...] which she sold to Mr. Oliver Warner for fifty dollars as soon as he went away - was brought back to him – his name was Zebulon Prutt.” Enslaved people were frequently bought and sold without their consent, and when Zebulon was caught and returned to Hadley he had a new owner, Oliver Warner. The Porter-Phelps family held at least six slaves before Massachusetts abolished enslavement in 1782, though the practice did not end nation-wide until this day, June 19th, 1865. The process of self-emancipation that Zebulon and countless others undertook required immense bravery. We'd like to recognize the brave men and women who fought against enslavement here in Massachusetts for 140 years, and across the nation, today on Juneteenth.

Our recognition of Juneteenth continues tonight, with a performance of music from the African Disapora, The Afro-Semitic Experience, tonight at 6:30 in the Sunken Garden.

WEATHER UPDATE: WEDNESDAY FOLK TRADITIONS CONCERT with AFRO-SEMITIC EXPERIENCE, June 19th

Today’s Wednesday Folk Tradition concert with the Afro-Semitic Experience on Wed., June 19th will proceed as normal. We are looking forward to welcoming you all! Please visit the museum’s Facebook page for the most up-to-date information regarding the concert series.

WEDNESDAY FOLK TRADITIONS at the PORTER-PHELPS-HUNTINGTON MUSEUM CONTINUES WITH VIVA QUETZAL JULY 10TH, 2019

PORTER-PHELPS-HUNTINGTON FOUNDATION, INC.

130 RIVER DRIVE HADLEY MA 01035

HADLEY, MA-- The Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum continues the 38th season of Wednesday Folk Traditions with the return of Viva Quetzal on Wednesday, July 10th. Viva Quetzal is a World/Afro-Andean/Latin/Jazz Fusion group of talented musicians of varying backgrounds that combines folk music from throughout the Americas. This and all other performances in the series are held Wednesday evenings at 6:30 pm in the Sunken Garden at the Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum, 130 River Drive, Route 47, Hadley, MA 01035. General admission is $12 and $2 for children 16 and under. Picnickers are welcome on the museum grounds beginning at 5:00 pm. The Museum and its grounds are a smoke free site.

Originally founded in 1986, Viva Quetzal has recorded three albums, most recently Hijos del Sol. They are also included on Putamayo’s Music of the Andes (2014). Viva Quetzal’s unique blending of musical styles and use of over thirty instruments not only delivers a range of melodious rhythms that create a link between the rainforests of Central and South America, the carnivals of Brazil, the high plateaus of the Andes, and the urban barrios of Latin America and the United States.Viva Quetzal’s members-- who hail from Latin America and New England-- feel that merging musical traditions may help reconcile political, cultural, and linguistic divides throughout the Americas.

Viva Quetzal includes Joe Belmont, who has performed with the group since 1992. Belmont’s classical and electric guitar chops are given an added dimension by the Colombian tiple. Roberto Clavijo, originally from Chile, can be heard performing on quenas, zampoñas, charango, Venezuelan cuatro, and vocals. He has toured internationally with other groups and has been a member of Viva Quetzal since 1993. Jon Weeks plays flute, saxophone, wind, synth and more and continues to perform with many jazz, rock, and Latin bands on the East Coast. Rudi Weeks, plays upright and electric bass and has been part of the group for twenty years. He is an experienced musician, having performed with over thirty ensembles ranging in style. Abraham “Abe” Sanchez has provided Viva Quetzal with vocals and keyboard for over ten years. He brings a wealth of musical experience from his native Venezuela, where he was director of a music school and accompanied national and international touring musicians. Eliezer Martinez is their newest member and can be heard playing the drums with the group. He aims to share his love for music in every performance.

Wednesday Folk Traditions continues on July 17th with a performance by Pan Morigan and Friends. Morigan will present “I Sing Earth!: Songs for the Fragile Waters and the sweet Dirty Ground: A musical meditation on the times we're livin' in.” Morigan is a vocalist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist and uses innovative, original songs and passionate, unbridled vocals in multiple tongues, to reflect on migration, home, creativity, and love.

The Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum Wednesday Folk Traditions is funded, in part, by grants from: the Marion I. And Otto C. Kohler Memorial Fund at the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts; the Amherst and Hadley Cultural Councils, local agencies, supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency; Massachusetts Cultural Council Festivals Program; Easthampton Savings Bank, Eversource Energy, Gage-Wiley & Co., and with generous support from many local businesses.

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, 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.

WEDNESDAY FOLK TRADITIONS at the PORTER-PHELPS-HUNTINGTON MUSEUM CONTINUES WITH FUSION NOMADS JUNE 26TH, 2019

PORTER-PHELPS-HUNTINGTON FOUNDATION, INC.

130 RIVER DRIVE HADLEY MA 01035

HADLEY—The Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum continues the 38th season of Wednesday Folk Traditions concert series on Wednesday, June 26th withFusion Nomads, a group of four life-long musicians passionate about innovation and converging traditions. Their music takes audiences on a journey inspired by countless regions, and genres from Electro-Funkadelic to Western Classical. This and all other performances are held Wednesday evenings at 6:30 pm in the Sunken Garden at the Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum, 130 River Drive, Route 47, Hadley MA 01035.  Admission is $12, $2 for children 16 and under.  Picnickers are welcome on the museums grounds starting at 5:00 pm. The museum and its grounds are a smoke-free site. For further information please call (413) 584-4699 or view www.pphmuseum.org.

From the first time a musician went beyond his or her home village, or region, or nation… music has been an ever-expanding hybrid of instruments and ways to play them. Enter Fusion Nomads John Sheldon, Derrik Jordan, Tony Vacca, and Jo Sallins. Their careers have covered everything from Pop Music to Avant-Garde, from Electro-Funkadelic to Spirit-Guided Improv, from Western Classical Music to Spoken Word, and from Old School to Nu School to No-Schooling-what-so-ever. They have been around the music, around the world, and around each other for more decades than they want to tell, and when they play together, you’d have to say it sounds like all that… and more. Their collaboration is a creative, momentary fusion that takes shameless advantage of theirnomadic careers.

John Sheldon is in his 50th year of composing music and performing his unique style of electric and acoustic guitar. After a stint as lead guitarist for Van Morrison, and songwriting for James Taylor, John has performed for five decades as a solo performer, as the lead singer-songwriter with his own rock band, Blue Streak, and in collaboration with other musicians and theater artists. John also co-founded a new musical and spoken word collaboration, Do It Now with Tony Vacca and beat poet laureate Paul Richmond. Recently, John has performed with internationally acclaimed Senegalese talking drum master Massamba Diop. Since 1978, he has released 13 CDs of his own music.

Derrik Jordan is an award-winning composer and singer-songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist on the 5-string electric violin, guitar, keyboard, kalimba, ngoni and percussion. He runs his production company, Worldsoul Records, based in Putney, Vermont. His music is currently being heard in more than 100 TV shows and films in over 20 countries, and he performs in many bands including Tony Vacca's World Rhythms, Impulse Ensemble, Simba and Natural History. His piece “Sky Mirror” won the Shakuhachi Chamber Music International Prize 2008, and he was commissioned by Vermont Symphony Orchestra in 2009 for their Made In Vermont Fall Festival Tour.

Tony Vacca is an innovative American percussionist with Jazz and World Music roots going back to the 70’s. Over the course of his career specializing in West African and American musical traditions he has made a habit of pushing the already adventurous conventions of World Music into new territory, both as a soloist and as the leader of his World Rhythms Ensemble. His wide range of performance collaborators include Sting, Senegalese Afro-pop star Baaba Maal, Jazz trumpeter and World Music legend Don Cherry, poet Abiodun Oyewole of The Last Poets, Senegalese Hip-Hop stars Bideew Bou Bess, and Gokh-bi System, Jazz giant Yusef Lateef, and Massamba Diop, Senegalese master of the tama or talking drum.

Jo Sallins has had 37 years of musical performing experience as a drummer. He has toured internationally in Asia, Singapore, Canada, Senegal, West Africa and the US. He is a teaching member of Massachusetts Cultural Council Events & Residency Roster, the New England Foundation for the Arts Touring Roster and a member of BOCES Arts Organization for upstate New York. Jo has performed with: Alvin Ailey, Frank Hatchett, Vishu Wood, Tony Vacca’s World Rhythms™, Dan Akroyd, Matt “Guitar” Murphy of the Blue Brothers (1 year), Stanley Clarke, Stanley Jordan, Michael Gregory, Gokh-bi System, Marvin “Smitty” Smith and many more.  

Wednesday Folk Traditions continues on July 10 with Viva Quetzal, World/Afro-Andean/Latin/Jazz Fusion, an astonishing array of exotic and familiar instruments and folkloric themes connecting the rain forests of Central and South America, the carnivals of Brazil, the high plateaus of the Andes, and the urban barrios of Latin America and the United States. “More than eclectic or rhythmic, it’s spiritual, it’s all cultures existing as one. That’s universal music!” – Rafael Charres, Cashbox Magazine (NYC)

The Porter-Phelps Huntingon Museum’s Wednesday Folk Traditions is funded, in part, by grants from: the Marion I. And Otto C. Kohler Memorial Fund at the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts; the Amherst and Hadley Cultural Councils, local agencies, supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency; Massachusetts Cultural Council Festivals Program, Easthampton Savings Bank, Eversource Energy, Gage-Wiley & Co., and with generous support from many local businesses. 

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 .

WEDNESDAY FOLK TRADITIONS at the PORTER-PHELPS-HUNTINGTON MUSEUM CONTINUES WITH THE AFRO-SEMITIC EXPERIENCE JUNE 19, 2019

PORTER-PHELPS-HUNTINGTON FOUNDATION, INC.

130 RIVER DRIVE HADLEY MA 01035

HADLEY—The Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum continues the 38th season of Wednesday Folk Traditions on Wednesday, June 19th with the return of The Afro-Semitic Experience, a group dedicated to preserving, promoting and expanding the cultural and musical heritage of the Jewish and African diaspora. Comprised of African-American and Jewish-American musicians, their performance creates an artistic response to anti-Semitism and racism of all forms. This and all other performances are held Wednesday evenings at 6:30 pm in the Sunken Garden at the Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum, 130 River Drive, Route 47, Hadley MA 01035.  Admission is $12, $2 for children 16 and under. Picnickers are welcome on the museums grounds starting at 5:00 pm. The museum and its grounds are a smoke-free site. For further information please call (413) 5844699 or view www.pphmuseum.org .  

The Afro-Semitic Experience and their eclectic blend of spiritual, world-beat, funk, jazz, cantorial, gospel, salsa, swing, and soul, are “redefining the jazz concert.” Nat Hentoff, of the Wall Street Journal, writes, “Never before have I heard this lyrically powerful a fusion of Jewish and jazz souls on fire.” During their concerts they play great music, tell stories, and offer a positive and meaningful message: Unity in the Community. They weave stories and music together as they celebrate and explain the Jewish and African-American sacred traditions.

Originating from an interfaith Martin Luther King memorial service in 1988, co-founders  African-American jazz pianist Warren Byrd, and Jewish-American jazz bassist David Chevan established a mission to celebrate the distinct cultures and heritages of the members of the group.  Over the years the band has worked with outstanding artists from the jazz and klezmer worlds including Frank London and Matt Darriau of the Klezmatics. The group has performed at festivals and major venues in the United States and Europe. Some of the more well known venues and festivals include: the Amsterdam Festival of Jewish Music, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Detroit Festival of Jewish Music, The Greater Hartford Jazz Festival, the Portland Jazz Festival, The New York Noise Festival, the Charles Wright Museum of African-American History in Detroit, New Haven’s International Festival of Arts and Ideas, the Eldridge Street Synagogue, and the Paris Festival of Jewish Culture.

This year, the performance falls on Juneteenth which celebrates the end of slavery and of the Civil War. Juneteenth derives its significance from the arrival of Union soldiers to Galveston Texas on June 19th 1865, who brought with them news of Emancipation. Today, Juneteenth is a festival of freedom, community, and the struggle for equality. The Afro-Semitic Experience commemorates the legacy of Juneteenth with their message of cross-cultural unity through music.

Wednesday Folk Traditions continues on June 26th with Fusion Nomads, featuring John Sheldon, Derrik Jordan, Tony Vacca and Jo Sallins. Fusion Nomads invite you on a fusion journey exploring musical histories and inspirations from their travels around the world. These four veteran musicians cover everything from Pop Music to the Avant-Garde, from Electro- Funkadelic to Spirit-Guided Improv, from Western Classical to Spoken Word, and from Old School to Nu School to No-Schooling-What-So-Ever.

The Porter-Phelps Huntington Museum’s Wednesday Folk Traditions is funded, in part, by grants from: the Marion I. And Otto C. Kohler Memorial Fund at the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts; the Amherst and Hadley Cultural Councils, local agencies, supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency; Massachusetts Cultural Council Festivals Program, Easthampton Savings Bank, Eversource Energy, Gage-Wiley & Co., and with generous support from many local businesses.

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 .

WEDNESDAY FOLK TRADITIONS at the PORTER-PHELPS-HUNTINGTON MUSEUM KICKS OFF its 2019 SEASON with Evelyn Harris, June 12th, 2019

PORTER-PHELPS-HUNTINGTON FOUNDATION, INC.

130 RIVER DRIVE HADLEY MA 01035

HADLEY –   The Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum kicks off its 38th season of Wednesday Folk Traditions on June 12th, 2019 with Evelyn Harris in our 9th annual Horace Clarence Boyer Memorial Gospel Concert. Harris will perform “A History of Gospel.”  A powerhouse vocalist and former member of Sweet Honey in the Rock, Evelyn Harris is a Grammy nominated composer whose remarkable instrument creates stirring interpretations of the traditional African-American song canon. She will be accompanied by New York City pianist, composer Dionne McClain-Freeney. This performance and all Wednesday Folk Traditions Concerts are held Wednesday evenings at 6:30 pm in the Sunken Garden at the Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum, 130 River Drive, Route 47, Hadley MA 01035. Admission is $12, $2 children 16 and under.  Picnickers are welcome on the museum’s grounds starting at 5:00 pm. The museum and its grounds are a smoke-free site. For further information please call (413) 5844699 or view www.pphmuseum.org .

Evelyn Harris comments on the history of gospel, “When African-Americans realized they could travel north and forge a new life, hopefully facing less bigotry, the spirituals written by slaves no longer told their new stories. Gospel music came into being in the beginning of the 20th century and took hold of many Black Baptist churches in their new homesteads of Chicago, New York City, Washington, DC, Memphis, Philadelphia and other small and large cities.  The excitement and frenzy for their new lives was immediately heard and felt in the new sacred music called gospel.”

Evelyn Harris hails from Richmond, Virginia, where she grew up in the church – the same place she started singing. Her musical style and her later ensemble collaborations reflect the gospel style. Harris attended Howard University in Washington, D.C., a historically black institution, where she studied music, majoring in Voice. After her graduation, she joined the newly-formed black women’s a cappella ensemble, Sweet Honey in the Rock, performing with them for the first time in 1974.  Over the course of her eighteen-year stint in the internationally-acclaimed ensemble, she not only acted as a singer and member of the group, but her experience informed her growth as a composer and arranger. Harris also co-produced nine of the ensemble’s albums. In 1988, one of Harris’ original compositions, “State of Emergency,” a statement for the end to South African Apartheid, from the ensemble’s album Live at Carnegie Hall, was nominated for a Grammy Award.

Following her retirement from Sweet Honey in the Rock, Harris pursued a solo career. “It’s very different from being in a group,” says Harris, “You have to balance your time between craft and business.” Harris’ multiple roles during her time in Sweet Honey clearly contributed to her success as a solo performer. She now performs around the Pioneer Valley at various venues, sometimes a cappella, sometimes with a trio, usually showcasing her jazz repertoire. Now, Harris devotes much of her time to coaching others as well, she is currently the Director of the Ku’umba Women’s Choir through the Northampton Community Music Center. Harris’ view of her music is that of wonder and discovery and notes her commitment to giving back: “Singing is my giving back with thanks and praise.” She draws on a variety of different styles as a solo artist, including jazz, pop, rock ‘n’ roll, blues, African-American song styles and gospel, never forgetting her roots but always building upon them.

Harris will be joined by pianist, composer, singer, choral director, and teaching artist Dionne McClain-Freeney. McClain-Freeney is the composer and lyricist of the acclaimed musical, and winner of Best Ensemble Performance at the New York Musical Theater Festival, This One Girl’s Story. She is also a frequent artist in France’s Absolute Gospel Festival, and at some of New York’s most loved venues and churches.

This annual memorial performance commemorates the life and work of the late Horace Clarence Boyer, a beloved and internationally acclaimed musician and scholar of Gospel Music. Dr. Boyer, who for 25 years presented an annual gospel performance at the museum, was a pivotal member of the Pioneer Valley musical community, a long-time professor at UMass, and minister of music at the Goodwin Memorial African Methodist Episcopalian Church. Boyer often performed with the groups he introduced, and he cited as part of his mission nurturing Gospel here in the Valley and throughout the world. The museum aims to further that goal with this memorial series, continuing the tradition he supported and preserving his legacy.

Wednesday Folk Traditions continues on June 19th with a performance by The Afro-Semitic Experience and will continue throughout June and July. The Afro-Semitic Experience is dedicated to preserving, promoting and expanding the cultural and musical heritage of the Jewish and African diaspora. Comprised of African-American and Jewish-American musicians, their performance is an artistic response to anti-Semitism and racism of all forms.

The Porter-Phelps Huntington Museum Wednesday Folk Traditions is funded, in part, by grants from: the Marion I. And Otto C. Kohler Memorial Fund at the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts; the Amherst and Hadley Cultural Councils, local agencies, supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency; Massachusetts Cultural Council Festivals Program; Easthampton Savings Bank, Eversource Energy, Gage-Wiley & Co., and with generous support from many local businesses.

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 .

THE PORTER-PHELPS-HUNTINGTON MUSEUM TO HOST COMMUNITY DAY FOR BELCHERTOWN, SOUTH HADLEY, GRANBY JUNE 15TH, 2019

PORTER-PHELPS-HUNTINGTON FOUNDATION, INC.

130 RIVER DRIVE HADLEY MA 01035

HADLEY, MA—The Porter-Phelps-Huntington-Museum invites all residents of Belchertown, South Hadley, and Granby to a Community Day on Saturday, June 15th, 2019 from 10:00am to 3:30pm. All residents are welcome to the Museum for free tours on the half hour. Afterwards, guests can relax on the back veranda with complimentary lemonade and cookies. Members of the community are encouraged to explore the homestead and grounds of one of the founding families of Hadley, and learn about the history of the Connecticut River Valley.  

The Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum provides a detailed look at the role of one family in the span of over 200 years of history in the Connecticut Valley. The home, built in 1752, is preserved to its circa 1800 structure and interior décor. During a tour of the house, visitors witness the impact of historical events like the Revolutionary War, the abolition of slavery, learn more about the changing role of women, and the impact of various theological movements on local society. A visit to the Porter-Phelps-Huntington House allows guests to experience the evolution of a nation as seen through the eyes of one local family.  

This summer, Belchertown native, Belchertown High School alumna, and Smith College student Lily Stowe-Alekman will be working as a Museum Assistant. As a history major and archives concentrator focused on American and women’s history, Stowe-Alekman is especially interested by the stories of the women in the family, slavery and indentured servitude on the homestead, and the transformation of the house into a museum. “Working in a historical site everyday is an incredibly powerful and transformative experience,” Stowe-Alekman states. As a local, connecting with the history of the Connecticut River Valley has been especially important. As is tradition for Museum Assistants at the Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum, Stowe-Alekman has written her own tour based on her interests as a history major. She hopes to see many familiar faces at this Community Day!

Today, the house is not only host to historical interpretation, but also to weekly concerts and teas. Wednesday evenings from June 12th through July 24th, the Museum presents Wednesday Folk Traditions, an annual concert series featuring talented musicians working in a vast array of traditions, cultures, genres, and sounds, ranging from traditional American folk singers to diverse international ensembles. Every Saturday afternoon in July through August, the Museum hosts “A Perfect Spot of Tea,” where guests are invited to relax on the back porch, sample desserts and tea from local restaurants and bakeries, and listen to talented local musicians.  Visitors are also encouraged to walk the hiking trails that circle a portion of this 1752 farm and include 350 acres of preserved land. A part of the Connecticut River Scenic Byway Project, these trails cover Porter-Phelps-Huntington property, move along the scenic Connecticut River, and extend to Hadley’s Mount Warner.

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 North. The Museum is open for guided tours Saturday through Wednesday from 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. 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 .

THE PORTER-PHELPS-HUNTINGTON MUSEUM TO HOST COMMUNITY DAY FOR NORTHAMPTON, HATFIELD, AND WHATELY JUNE 9TH, 2019

PORTER-PHELPS-HUNTINGTON FOUNDATION, INC.

130 RIVER DRIVE HADLEY MA 01035

HADLEY, MA—The Porter-Phelps-Huntington-Museum invites all residents of Northampton, Hatfield, and Whately to a Community Day on Sunday, June 9th, 2019 from 10:00am to 3:30pm. All residents are welcome to the Museum for free tours on the half hour. Afterwards, guests can relax on the back veranda with complimentary lemonade and cookies. Members of the community are encouraged to explore the homestead and grounds of one of the founding families of Hadley, and learn about the history of the Connecticut River Valley.  

The Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum provides a detailed look at the role of one family in the span of over 200 years of history in the Connecticut Valley. The home, built in 1752, is preserved to its circa 1800 structure and interior décor. During a tour of the house, visitors witness the impact of historical events like the Revolutionary War, the abolition of slavery, learn more about the changing role of women, and the impact of various theological movements on local society. A visit to the Porter-Phelps-Huntington House allows guests to experience the evolution of a nation as seen through the eyes of one local family.  

This summer, three Smith College students are interning at the Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum as Museum Assistants. Lily Stowe-Alekman hails from Belchertown, Massachusetts and is a rising sophomore at Smith College where she majors in history and is a member of the Archives Concentration program. Veronica Douglas is originally from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and is a history major, archives concentrator, and a rising junior. Caroline Smith is from Santa Cruz, California, and is a history major and rising junior. All three are very excited to continue to immerse themselves in the history of Hadley, Western Massachusetts, and the Connecticut River Valley and hope you’ll join them at the Museum for Community Day!

Today, the house is not only host to historical interpretation, but also to weekly concerts and teas. Wednesday evenings from June 12th through July 24th, the Museum presents Wednesday Folk Traditions, an annual concert series featuring talented musicians working in a vast array of traditions, cultures, genres, and sounds, ranging from traditional American folk singers to diverse international ensembles. Every Saturday afternoon in July through August, the Museum hosts “A Perfect Spot of Tea,” where guests are invited to relax on the back porch, sample desserts and tea from local restaurants and bakeries, and listen to talented local musicians.  

Visitors are also encouraged to walk the hiking trails that circle a portion of this 1752 farm and include 350 acres of preserved land. A part of the Connecticut River Scenic Byway Project, these trails cover Porter-Phelps-Huntington property, move along the scenic Connecticut River, and extend to Hadley’s Mount Warner.

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 North. For further information about the Museum and its programs, visit www.pphmuseum.org or call the Museum at (413) 584-4699.

THE PORTER-PHELPS-HUNTINGTON MUSEUM TO HOST COMMUNITY DAY FOR AMHERST, HADLEY, AND SUNDERLAND JUNE 8TH, 2019

PORTER-PHELPS-HUNTINGTON FOUNDATION, INC.

130 RIVER DRIVE HADLEY MA 01035

HADLEY, MA—The Porter-Phelps-Huntington-Museum invites all residents of Amherst, Hadley, and Sunderland to a Community Day on Saturday, June 8th, 2019 from 10:00am to 3:30pm. All residents are welcome to the Museum for free tours on the half hour. Afterwards, guests can relax on the back veranda with complimentary lemonade and cookies. Members of the community are encouraged to explore the homestead and grounds of one of the founding families of Hadley, and learn about the history of the Connecticut River Valley.  

The Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum provides a detailed look at the role of one family in the span of over 200 years of history in the Connecticut Valley. The home, built in 1752, is preserved to its circa 1800 structure and interior décor. During a tour of the house, visitors witness the impact of historical events like the Revolutionary War, the abolition of slavery, learn more about the changing role of women, and the impact of various theological movements on local society. A visit to the Porter-Phelps-Huntington House allows guests to experience the evolution of a nation as seen through the eyes of one local family.  

Today, the house is not only host to historical interpretation, but also to weekly concerts and teas. Wednesday evenings from June 12th through July 24th, the Museum presents Wednesday Folk Traditions, an annual concert series featuring talented musicians working in a vast array of traditions, cultures, genres, and sounds, ranging from traditional American folk singers to diverse international ensembles. Every Saturday afternoon in July through August, the Museum hosts “A Perfect Spot of Tea,” where guests are invited to relax on the back porch, sample desserts and tea from local restaurants and bakeries, and listen to talented local musicians. Visitors are also encouraged to walk the hiking trails that circle a portion of this 1752 farm and include 350 acres of preserved land. A part of the Connecticut River Scenic Byway Project, these trails cover Porter-Phelps-Huntington property, move along the scenic Connecticut River, and extend to Hadley’s Mount Warner.

This summer, Amherst College senior and Amherst native Anna Plummer is a Museum Assistant at the Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum and conducting tours. She says,“After a little more than a week here, I feel more connected to the history of the Pioneer Valley than I ever have. This house, property, and its unique collections tell the story of a highly connected family over almost three centuries, but also provide unique insight into the lives of the women of the house and some of the many free, indentured and enslaved laborers the family farm depended on.” With several years of experience as a tour guide at the beloved Emily Dickinson Museum and interests in English literature, poetry writing, and the performing arts, Anna looks forward to deepening her understanding of  historic house museum operations, pursuing independent research, and undoubtedly writing some poetry about it all. She hopes to see familiar faces stop by at this Community Day.

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 North. For further information about the Museum and its programs, visit www.pphmuseum.org or call the Museum at (413) 584-4699.

Meet Our Summer 2019 Museum Assistants: Anna

My name is Anna Plummer and I am a Museum Assistant at the Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum this summer! I joined the team a little later after a semester studying in England. I am a rising senior at Amherst College, where I am a Theater & Dance and English double major, with a special interest in poetry and 19th-century literature in its historic context. 

As an Amherst native with several years of experience as a tour guide at the Emily Dickinson Museum, I am excited to engage with new and intersecting perspectives on life in the Pioneer Valley over the years. I am also interested in the literary connections of this influential Hadley family.

I will be giving tours for the public, assisting at our summer events including Wednesday Folk Traditions and Perfect Spot of Tea, and conducting independent research. 

It is difficult to choose one favorite room, but I find the attic a particularly special feature of the Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum. While one of the more bare spaces and susceptible to the extremes of New England weather, it provides a unique opportunity to imagine the harsher lives of the servants, laborers, and slaves of the family that possibly lived there. It’s hidden high up and far back in the home and, curiously, also houses a meat smoker. 

When I am not at the museum I am likely singing or dancing in some form, enjoying the woods behind my home, or writing poetry. Stop by to explore and discuss this incredible local historic resource with me!

Meet Our Summer 2019 Museum Assistants: Lily

My name is Lily Stowe-Alekman and I am a Museum Assistant at the Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum this summer! I am a rising sophomore at Smith College, where I am in majoring in history and concentrating in archives with a specific interest in American history and women’s history. I grew up in nearby Belchertown, MA and I love being in the Pioneer Valley. I’m excited to share local history with visitors from the area and far away this summer.

I will be giving tours this summer and helping at events, such as Wednesday Folk Traditions and a Perfect Spot of Tea. I look forward to bringing my experience as a tour guide at Smith College and as a volunteer at the Smith College Museum of Art to my work at the Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum. As an archives concentrator and history major, I am also very excited to work in the museum’s special collections and do some research over the summer.

My favorite room in the Porter-Phelps-Huntington House Museum is the kitchen. I think that one can gain a sense of how busy and productive the house once was as a farm from this room. I think it is also important to highlight those whose stories are not often included in the family narrative (i.e. the servants and enslaved people who labored in the house). I’m especially interested in the kitchen tools, because you can see how labor intensive this work must have been.

When I’m not at the museum, you can find me spending time with my family, friends, and my miniature dachshunds, Rosie and Jedi. I am so excited to spend my summer here at home in the beautiful Pioneer Valley and can’t wait to show you all the museum has to offer!

Meet Our Summer 2019 Museum Assistants: Veronica

My name is Veronica Douglas, and I’m a rising junior at Smith College, where I’m a history major and archives concentrator. I’m looking forward to spending my summer working as a museum assistant at the Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum and living in Amherst.

I’m originally from North Carolina, and I’m excited to bring my experience as a docent at the Burwell School Historic Site to PPH. In addition to giving tours and assisting with our summer programming, I will be conducting independent research at the house. My academic interests include women’s history, labor history, and material culture and I look forward to exploring these subjects this summer.

My favorite room in the house is the south parlor, aka “The Long Room.” You can tell it used to be hopping back in the day, with the family hosting teas, game nights, and weddings. I especially love the toys in the closet because they reveal what life was like for the six generations of children here.

When I’m not at the museum, you can find me hiking, baking, and exploring the Pioneer Valley. I look forward to showing you all the museum has to offer.

Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum to Co-Host Opening Day Event with Kestrel Land Trust

Porter-Phelps-Huntington Foundation, Inc.

130 River Drive Hadley MA  01035

Opening weekend, Saturday, May 18th, a joint program with Kestrel Trust, Birding & History at Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum will take place from 8 am – 11:30 am to celebrate both our Valley’s natural and cultural heritage and the Museum’s 70th anniversary. Moses Porter acquired 600 acres of land along the Connecticut River up to Mount Warner in North Hadley in 1752 to build the farmstead known as Forty Acres. The house sits in the Forty Acre Meadow along the Connecticut River two miles north of the Hadley Common.  The house, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is surrounded by over 350 acres of protected farmland, forest, and river frontage—including Kestrel’s Dyer Conservation Area donated by Elizabeth Huntington Dyer to the Nature Conservancy. The PPH Museum is also the Visitor Center for the National Connecticut River Scenic Byway. The cost for this special program is $15 per person. Registration is required. Contact Kestrel Trust to Register: https://www.kestreltrust.org/calendar/birding-history-pph-2019.

Dedicated Volunteer Felicia Fil Wins Young Community Leader Award

Congratulations to our dedicate volunteer Felicia Fil on winning the Young Community Leader Award. Per the Hampshire Gazette, “To earn the Gold Award, Fil had to do 80 hours of service but ended up doing 300, which included being a volunteer waiter at summer events at the Porter-Phelps-Huntington House and training new museum staff for the Perfect Spot of Tea, as well as visiting residents at The Arbors retirement community in Amherst. Previously, when earning the Silver Award, Fil completed 50 hours of service, during which time she sewed pillowcases for patients at Shriners Hospitals for Children.”

Read the full article here.

To volunteer with the Museum please email pphmuseumassistant@gmail.com or call 413-584-4699

PORTER-PHELPS-HUNTINGTON MUSEUM OPENS FOR 2019 SEASON May 18th for its 70th season

Porter-Phelps-Huntington Foundation, Inc.

130 River Drive Hadley MA  01035

HADLEY – The Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum, an historic house museum dating to 1752 in Hadley Massachusetts opens Saturday, May 18, 2019 for its 70th season. Guided tours will be available Saturday through Wednesday from 1:00 to 4:30 pm. The museum is closed on Thursdays and Fridays. Admission is $5 for adults and $1 for children.

The Porter-Phelps-Huntington House, known as Forty Acres, is an 18th-century farm on the banks of the Connecticut River that today interprets life in rural New England over three centuries.  Through the words, spaces and possessions of the women and men who lived here, the Museum portrays the activities of a prosperous and productive 18th-century farmstead. Members of this household along with numerous artisans, servants and slaves made "Forty Acres" an important social and commercial link in local, regional and national cultural and economic networks.  Through the 19th century the generations transformed the estate into a rural retreat. In the 20th-century the house was preserved as a museum by family members and now contains the possessions of six generations of this extended family.  

The rooms in the Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum remain as they were arranged by members of the family to accommodate the procession of relatives, neighbors, community leaders and workers who crossed the house’s threshold.  From farmers and businessmen, to religious leaders and social workers, to servants and slaves, the stories of many men, women, and children spanning 250 years of American History are told  within the house. The Porter-Phelps-Huntington   House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

Opening weekend, Saturday, May 18th a joint program with Kestrel Trust, Birding & History at Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum will take place from 8 am – 11:30 am to celebrate both our Valley’s natural and cultural heritage and the Museum’s 70th anniversary. Moses Porter acquired 600 acres of land along the Connecticut River up to Mount Warner in North Hadley in 1752 to build the farmstead known as Forty Acres. The house sits in the Forty Acre Meadow along the Connecticut River two miles north of the Hadley Common.  The house, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is surrounded by over 350 acres of protected farmland, forest, and river frontage—including Kestrel’s Dyer Conservation Area donated by Elizabeth Huntington Dyer to the Nature Conservancy. The PPH Museum is also the Visitor Center for the National Connecticut River Scenic Byway. The cost for this special program is $15 per person. Registration is required. Contact Kestrel Trust to Register: https://www.kestreltrust.org/calendar/birding-history-pph-2019.

Programs this summer include the thirty-eighth season of WEDNESDAY FOLK TRADITIONS, featuring some of New England's finest ethnic folk music performers and ensembles. Performances will be held Wednesday evenings at 6:30 P.M starting June 12 with Grammy nominated composer Evelyn Harris, powerhouse vocalist, former member of Sweet Honey In The Rock, whose remarkable vocal instrument creates stirring interpretations of the traditional African-American song cannon including spirituals, freedom songs, jazz, pop, rock 'n' roll, gospel and blues in our 9th Annual Horace Clarence Boyer Gospel Concert.  The WFT series continues with weekly performances through July 24.   

"A PERFECT SPOT OF TEA" will be held each Saturday in July and August with seatings at 2:30 P.M. and 3:30 P.M. on the museum's back veranda.  Local musicians will perform while guests sip Earl Grey tea and taste pastries donated by local restaurants. 

The Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum is also the Way-Point Center for the National Connecticut River Scenic Byway. The Museum hosts a panel exhibit on the natural history of the Valley, the Museum’s history, and sites along the by-way for travelers. A newly created trail system begins at the Museum, traverses the farm fields along the river and continues along the old buggy path to the top of Mount Warner where the family grazed their cattle in the 18th century.

The Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum is located at 130 River Drive, Hadley MA on Route 47 just two miles north of the junction of Routes 9 and 47 North in Hadley.  For information concerning tours or special events, phone (413) 584-4699 or check the museum web site: www.pphmuseum.org .

LISTING:

Porter-Phelps-Huntington House Museum, Hadley

The Porter-Phelps-Huntington House was built in 1752 by Moses and Elizabeth Porter and was central to the 600-acre farmstead known as “Forty Acres.”  Today, the property is surrounded by over 350 acres of protected farmland, forest and river frontage.  The Museum portrays the activities of a wealthy and productive 18th-century household including numerous artisans, servants and slaves who made "Forty Acres" an important social and commercial link in local, regional and national cultural and economic networks.  Since 1799 there have been no structural changes to the house. In the 19th century the house evolved into a rural retreat for family and in the mid 20th century became an early example of historic preservation.  The museum is listed on the National Historic Register and contains a collection of the belongings of seven generations of one extended Hadley family. Open May 18 through October 15, Saturday through Wednesday. The Museum also presents a series of special programs including Wednesday Folk Traditions concerts and Saturday teas. 

For more information: www.pphmuseum.org ▪ 130 River Drive (Route 47) ▪ (413) 584-4699

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"Crossing the Heretic's Bridge", a Presentation by Ken Samonds

Crossing the Heretic's Bridge" by Ken Samonds
Wednesday, September 26 at 7:00 PM
At Grace Church on 14 Boltwood Ave, Amherst, MA 01002

To those interested in learning more about the Porter-Phelps-Huntington Family, you’re invited to a presentation about Frederick Dan Huntington titled, “Crossing the Heretic’s Bridge”. Ken Samonds will be presenting to the Grace Episcopal Church on Wednesday, September 26, at 7:00 PM.

The title of the talk refers to a life changing incident that influenced his life-choices, career, and his faith at the age of eight. Frederick Dan Huntington is known as one of the founders of the Grace Church and some may remember that he was the donor of the east window. Only a few may know of other details of his national reputation or of his life-journey from a farm in Hadley to St. Paul's Cathedral, Syracuse, New York.

We encourage anyone that is interested in the history of Hadley or the Grace Episcopal Church to come and enjoy this talk by Ken Samonds!

THE PORTER-PHELPS-HUNTINGTON MUSEUM ANNOUNCES NEW SCHEDULE FOR THE 2018 FALL SEASON

HADLEY—The Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum will be open  for guided tours Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays from 1:00 – 4:00 PM and closed Tuesday through Friday until the end of its 2018 season,  October 15th.

The Museum has three programs scheduled for Sundays in September:

September 16, 2018-  An Artists’ Reception, 2-4 pm, for FIELD NOTES 8, an exhibition of colorful mobile compositions, and wood bas reliefs created by architects Sigrid Miller Pollin and Stephen Schreiber, and landscape architect Jane Thurber.

https://www.pphmuseum.org/field-notes-8-2018

September 23, 2018-  At 2 pm, the New England Mandolin Orchestra will premiere what it believes to be the first mandolin rendition of Wolfgang Mozart's Quartet #17, nicknamed "The Hunt," one of six string quartets he composed and dedicated to his friend and hero Franz Joseph Haydn, and a  mandolin interpretation of a violin concerto by Johann Sebastian Bach. Admission is by donation and will be held in the Museum’s Corn Barn.

https://www.pphmuseum.org/mandolin-new-england/

September 30, 2018-  At 3 pm, Grammy nominated Senegalese Master Kora player Youssoupha Sidibe performs ancient African Harp styles blended with Sufi devotional chanting and western music creating a unique musical expression that he has shared around the world. Admission is $12 for adults and $2 for children 12 and under.  The concert will be held at the Museum rain or shine. This program is the final performance in the museum’s WFT series. https://www.pphmuseum.org/2018-youssoupha-sidibe

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 Monday from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 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 Seven Years’ War and Revolutionary War, rose to prominence in local government, and embodied a consistently progressive social consciousness. Tours highlight both local and regional narratives, ranging in focus from architecture, material culture, and labor, to early American theology, economics, and social movements. The Museum is open for guided tours Saturday through Wednesday from 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and by appointment. Tours are $5 for adults, $1 for children under twelve. For further information about tours or other programs, please call the Museum at (413) 584-4699 or visit us online at pphmuseum.org.