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.
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.