Step into the musical world of Gilded Age America through an unforgettable classical guitar concert celebrating the rich and diverse traditions that shaped the nation's musical identity. The Velvet Parlor brings together forgotten American composers, beloved European masterpieces as adapted by American guitarists, and the folk and blues traditions that flourished alongside them, revealing the remarkable breadth of guitar music performed across America in the late nineteenth century and beyond.
The program features works by pioneering American guitar composers including Justin Holland, William Foden, María Dolores Knoop ("Mrs. Knoop"), and Vahdah Olcott-Bickford—musicians whose contributions helped establish a uniquely American classical guitar tradition. Their music is presented alongside elegant guitar arrangements of works by celebrated European composers such as Giuseppe Verdi, Georges Bizet, and Camille Saint-Saëns, reflecting the immensely popular operatic transcriptions and salon repertoire enjoyed by American guitarists of the era.
Completing the program are evocative arrangements of early American folk songs and blues, including Aunt Molly Jackson's Poor Miner's Farewell, Charles Connolly's Drill, Ye Tarriers, Drill!, and music associated with Lead Belly, Robert Johnson, and Charley Patton, illuminating the voices and experiences of working Americans during a period of profound social and cultural change. The program also includes original works by Kevin Sherwin inspired by the musical styles of the period.
Blending familiar melodies with remarkable rediscoveries, The Velvet Parlor offers audiences a captivating journey through America's musical heritage, uncovering the extraordinary repertoire that once filled concert halls, parlors, and homes across the nation.