American Antiquarian Society
185 Salisbury Street
Worcester, MA 01609
United States
Join historical performance specialist Shirley Hunt as she discusses her recent musical research as a Creative and Performing Artists and Writers Fellow at the American Antiquarian Society. Hunt's research examines performance traditions and cultural contexts surrounding bowed string instruments in early nineteenth-century New England, with a specific focus on the early New England bass viols and violins housed at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. As a result of her research at AAS, Hunt performed and video-recorded numerous musical selections on the instruments housed in MFA collection. During this program, audience members will have the chance to view some of these pre-recorded videos, which include pieces such as "Repose" and "Warren" from the Abraham Wood Music Book, "Smyrna" from the New-Hampshire Collection of Church Musick, and excerpts from the Jeremiah Brown Music and Dance Book.
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Internationally respected Baroque cellist Shirley Hunt has performed and recorded with the nation's leading period instrument ensembles for over a decade. In 2020, she became the first woman, the first American, and the first person of color to release a complete recording of J.S. Bach's Suites and Sonatas for cello and viola da gamba with harpsichord on period instruments. In February 2022, Hunt held a Hearst Foundations Fellowship at the American Antiquarian Society, where she pursued original research on early 19th-century performance practice in New England. She is a founding member of the Cramer Quartet, a period instrument string quartet that performs both historical and contemporary repertoire on gut strings.