March 30, 2009
Concert at CW’s Wallace Museum celebrates the 250th anniversary of George and Martha Washington’s marriage and 220th anniversary of his inauguration
In January 1759, the marriage of George and Martha Washington set into a motion a domestic life that supported his public successes. The concert, “Love and Politics: A Concert Celebrating the 250th Anniversary of George and Martha’s Marriage, and 220th Anniversary of His Inauguration,” features the music from the lives of the Washingtons at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 11 at the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum.
Music historians David and Ginger Hildebrand perform selections from the music book George Washington gave his bride, and topical and theater songs heard at Mount Vernon, interspersed with recollections by Martha Washington, portrayed by Colonial Williamsburg interpreter Lee Ann Rose.
In contrast, being elected and installed as president involved marches, patriotic songs and dance tunes evoking America’s successful Revolution and the public adulation for the first president. The couple will showcase the 18th-century music on harpsichord, violin, guitars and hammered dulcimer.
David and Ginger specialize in researching, recording and performing early American music. Since 1980 they have presented concerts and educational programs throughout the country for museums, historical societies, public schools and universities. In addition to Colonial Williamsburg, Mount Vernon, the Smithsonian Institution, the National Archives and the Styriarte Festival (in Graz, Austria) are among their past performance venues.
Ginger holds a master’s degree in guitar performance from the Peabody Conservatory; David's master’s degree in musicology is from George Washington University and his doctorate is from the Catholic University of America. Ginger also performs with “EnsembleGallilei” and David consults and lectures widely. The couple teaches in the classroom as well as privately.
The Hildebrands provided soundtrack materials and served as period music consultants for several PBS broadcasts: the series “Liberty!--the American Revolution” and the one-hour specials “Jefferson: A View from the Mountain” and “Rediscovering George Washington.” C-Span’s “American Presidents” series and museums such as Mount Vernon feature their recorded music as well.
The Hildebrands have released six full-length recordings, most notably “George Washington: Music for the First President (1998)” and “Music in the Life of Benjamin Franklin (2006).” In 1999, together with dance historians Kate van Winkle and Robert Keller, the Hildebrands founded the Colonial Music Institute (www.colonialmusic.org).
Tickets are $12 for adults and youth ages six to 17 and $6 for children under six.
Programs and exhibitions at The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum are supported by the DeWitt Wallace Endowment Fund.
Entrance to Colonial Williamsburg Art Museums is through the Public Hospital of 1773 at 326 W. Francis St. For information call (757) 220-7724.
Established in 1926, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation is the not-for-profit educational institution that preserves and operates the restored 18th-century Revolutionary capital of Virginia as a town-sized living history museum, telling the inspirational stories of our nation’s founding men and women. Within the restored and reconstructed buildings, historic interpreters, attired as colonial men and women from slaves to shopkeepers to soldiers, relate stories of colonial Virginia society and culture – stories of our journey to become Americans – while historic trades people research, demonstrate and preserve the 18th-century world of work and industry. As Colonial Williamsburg interprets life in the time of the American Revolution guests interact with history through “Revolutionary City®” – a dramatic live street theater presentation.
Williamsburg is located in Virginia’s Tidewater region, 20 minutes from Newport News, within an hour’s drive of Richmond and Norfolk, and 150 miles south of Washington, D.C., off Interstate 64. For more information about Colonial Williamsburg, call 1-800-HISTORY or visit Colonial Williamsburg’s Web site at www.history.org.