Americana – Page 5 – The Rosenbach

Forging American Music – Shape-note Singing in Early America

Date / Time

November 8, 2018
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

The shape-note method is a musical learning aid that was invented in Philadelphia in 1798 and became popular for musical instruction, social worship, and community singing. Shape-note books included not only music composed for choirs but also religious folk songs and even secular ballads. “Amazing Grace” is one of many hymn tunes that were first written in shaped notes. Shape-note singing, also called Sacred Harp, has survived in living tradition in the south and is enjoying a revival throughout the U.S. and abroad. Join singers from CraftWorks and Rachel Hall, shape-note historian and co-author of The Shenandoah Harmony, as they perform shape-note songs of early America and discuss their historical context, with a focus on Philadelphia and Pennsylvania connections. After the presentation, we will invite the audience to participate in a “singing” with the choir and local shape-note singers.

In Conversation With The Rosenbach Mini-Series: The Legacy of the Thirteenth Amendment: Eric Motley

Date / Time

January 24, 2019
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Eric Motley is an Executive VP at the Aspen Institute. His memoir Madison Park: a Place of Hope outlines his journey to the Oval Office as a Special Assistant to President George W. Bush.

In Conversation With The Rosenbach Mini-Series: The Legacy of the Thirteenth Amendment: Hosea H. Harvey

Date / Time

December 13, 2018
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Hosea H. Harvey is Associate Professor at the Beasley School of Law, Temple University. His research interests center around using empirical methods to solve a central question: what is the appropriate role of the law in minimizing the effects of race and gender disparities in business organizations, consumer markets, and regulatory policies? Professor Harvey’s future publications challenge the empirical basis for recent consumer finance law reforms, arguing that such reforms run counter to consumer behavior and have race and gender stratified consequences

In Conversation With The Rosenbach Mini-Series: The Legacy of the Thirteenth Amendment: Michele Norris [OFF-SITE]

Date / Time

January 9, 2019
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Michele Norris is a Peabody Award-winning journalist, founder of The Race CardProject and Executive Director of The Bridge, The Aspen Institute’s new program on race, identity, connectivity and inclusion. For more than a decade Norris served as a host of NPR’s “All Things Considered” where she interviewed world leaders, American presidents, Nobel laureates, leading thinkers and groundbreaking artists.

In Conversation With The Rosenbach: Stephen Fried

Date / Time

September 27, 2018
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Stephen Fried is the author of Rush: Revolution, Madness, and Benjamin Rush, the Visionary Doctor Who Became a Founding Father, the remarkable story of Benjamin Rush, medical pioneer and one of our nation’s most provocative and unsung Founding Fathers.

House Tour: Americana

Date / Time

July 7, 2018
1:30 pm - 2:30 pm

During this hour-long thematic tour of the Rosenbach brothers’ home, you’ll hear dramatic, inspiring, and surprising stories of American history in portraits, furniture, and rare books in our collection. Explore tales of daring, sacrifice, and patriotism at the Rosenbach and get acquainted with Founding Fathers and Mothers at the Rosenbach this July.

House Tour: Americana

Date / Time

July 1, 2018
1:30 pm - 2:30 pm

During this hour-long thematic tour of the Rosenbach brothers’ home, you’ll hear dramatic, inspiring, and surprising stories of American history in portraits, furniture, and rare books in our collection. Explore tales of daring, sacrifice, and patriotism at the Rosenbach and get acquainted with Founding Fathers and Mothers at the Rosenbach this July.

Hands-On Tour: Founding Fathers-SOLD OUT!

Date / Time

August 10, 2018
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm

From George Washington’s earliest known letter (he was just 17!) to a meticulously folded page containing a scientific observation made by Thomas Jefferson while he was walking outside on a misty day, this tour offers an intimate view of the Founding Fathers’ writings to family, friends, colleagues, and even themselves. A rare opportunity to know our nation’s icons as real people: fathers, spurned lovers, jealous politicians, intellectuals, and, of course, revolutionaries. Washington, Jefferson, Adams, and Franklin form the core of the tour.

Hands-On Tour: Book Arts

Date / Time

July 13, 2018
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Do you prefer to judge a book by its cover, or does the inside matter more? In this tour of book arts, we’ll take a look at various rare books in the Rosenbach collection, their aesthetics, their functions, how the processes in creating books inform how we use them today, and vice versa. Go behind the scenes of book binding, illuminating medieval manuscript leaves, the artistry of scribes and painters, 19th century printmaking– and perhaps stumble on a few surprises between the pages.

Hands-On Tour: Founding Fathers

Date / Time

July 6, 2018
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm

From George Washington’s earliest known letter (he was just 17!) to a meticulously folded page containing a scientific observation made by Thomas Jefferson while he was walking outside on a misty day, this tour offers an intimate view of the Founding Fathers’ writings to family, friends, colleagues, and even themselves. A rare opportunity to know our nation’s icons as real people: fathers, spurned lovers, jealous politicians, intellectuals, and, of course, revolutionaries. Washington, Jefferson, Adams, and Franklin form the core of the tour.