Gilmore's 1872 World Peace Jubilee

Have you ever heard of a music festival that lasted eighteen days, had 2,000 musicians, 22,000 singers, an international audience of over 100,000 people, and a theme of world peace? Brown's Band of Penacook performed at one. It was the 1872 World Peace Jubilee in Back Bay, Boston, organized by Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore, an Irish immigrant known as America’s first superstar and the father of the American band.

Jarlath MacNamara, an Irishman and the world’s leading expert on Gilmore, will be presenting a two-session Zoom program on Gilmore, including Brown’s Band’s scrapbook of their Jubilee adventure which MacNamara found on eBay. MacNamara has made a lifelong study of Gilmore. He will be Zooming in from Ballygar, County Galway, Ireland, his hometown and the town where Gilmore was raised.

Gilmore was a leading figure in American life. He was a refugee from the Irish Famine, immigrating to the U.S. in 1849 at the age of 19, bringing a strong conviction against slavery from his early years of unjust working conditions in Ireland. He stood against slavery, segregation, and racism, which he often witnessed in New England. He was one of the first to advocate for equity for female and African American musicians.

Gilmore was Musical Director of the U.S. Centennial Celebrations in 1876, founder of what became New York City’s Madison Square Garden, and Musical Director of the Inauguration of the Statue of Liberty in 1886. He wrote many popular songs including “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” which celebrates the end of the Civil War without boasting of the victory of one side over another. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.

The program will be held on Zoom on September 18 and October 2, both at 6:00 PM, hosted by the Penacook Historical Society. Registration is required to receive the Zoom link. To register, visit the Penacook Historical Society on Facebook or email penacookhistory@gmail.com.