POSTPONED DUE TO CORONAVIRUS—check back for new date.

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Originally to be presented as part of the Fifth Annual Sugarmill Music Festival on Saturday, May 16 at 11:30 AM at Rosalie Sugarmill south of Alexandria, LA

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Project led by Jackson Harmeyer (Director of Scholarship, Sugarmill Music Festival) and features presentations by Meredith Melançon (Bolton High School) and Michelle Riggs Waller (Archivist, LSU Alexandria) with live music performed by violinist Jose Gabriel Velazquez (Metamorphosis Duo).

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Abstract: Solomon Northup, by his own account, enjoyed more freedom to travel than most enslaved peoples in central Louisiana because he was a talented violinist. It was a skill which Mr. Northup gained as a free-born citizen which was highly-prized when he was held captive in our region. His activities as a violinist were, in fact, the only labor for which he was compensated. While it is unknown if Mr. Northup ever visited Rosalie, having this last remaining sugarhouse from his era as the venue adds poignancy to the words and music.

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This project is funded in part by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

 

Learn more about this timely project which connects classical music, local history, and the struggle for racial justice at www.SugarmillMusic.org.