Family Music at the Family History Expo in Utah

What did your ancestors do with music? Did they play instruments? Did they sing? Did they attend local concerts, such as the local band in the park? Maybe one of your ancestors taught other people how to play an instrument?

My granduncle, C. Harrison Hollander, played the piano-forte (piano) and absolutely loved music. He composed a few pieces and became the manager for an opera singer, Charlotte Peege, whom he later married. They lived in New York and Boston, where Charlotte could continue her career and where Harrison worked as a music critic, among other music-related jobs. Eventually they retired to Winter Park, Florida where they designed their own home, creating a huge living room with, as the focal point, a resident grand piano. They would host music gatherings and friends would fill the home as audience to Harrison on the piano and Charlotte "on" the voice.

I wonder if some of that behavior of having music in the home filtered down to me. Our house parties almost always include a number of musicians - playing guitars, banjos, autoharps, mandolins, fiddles, dulcimers, etc. - taking turns playing solo pieces or leading the whole group in singalongs. We can't imagine any other way of entertaining (and our neighbors frequently come by for a free concert).

If you would like to see a sample of this sort of activity, come to Sandy, Utah the last weekend of August. Butch & I will have a booth in the exhibit hall (#621 - way off in the corner where we can make noise & not disturb others) where we will have short demonstrations of the music of our ancestors. Also, on Sat. at 2:30, we will be doing an hour program on the music of the Mormon Pioneers called "To Zion in Song" (I'll write more about that next week).

But there is a lot of great stuff planned for the Family History Expo in Sandy, Utah ... check it out at: