On Thursday, January 16 at 6:30 p.m., the Somerville Museum presents an evening of history and music about Somerville composer Henry Hadley.

Hadley (1871-1937) was one of the most performed and published American composers of his day. Born in Somerville to a musical family, Hadley’s mother was active in local church music as a member of Somerville’s First Congregational Church, then located on Franklin Street.

Henry Hadley became the church’s music director at age 16. He went on to compose religious music that was performed across the country. A film music pioneer, he conducted the New York Philharmonic for the soundtrack to the 1926 film Don Juan with John Barrymore – the first feature film with synchronized music and sound. Hadley also composed an original score for the 1927 Barrymore film When a Man Loves. He received an honorary doctorate degree from Tufts University and founded the National Association for Composers and Conductors.

During the Great Depression, Hadley worked with Gertrude Robinson Smith to start the permanent summer classical music festival that became known as Tanglewood.

Many thanks to the generosity of Professors  Dan Breen  and Mina Cho. Join in afterwards for a reception.

Somerville’s Ambassador of Harmony: The Spiritual Music of Henry Hadley
A talk by Professor Dan Breen featuring a live performance by pianist Mina Cho
Thursday, January 16, 6:30 p.m.
The Somerville Museum
One Westwood Road
$10; free for Museum members and members of participating congregations
https://www.facebook.com/SomervilleMuseum/

Somerville resident  Dr. Dan Breen  has taught at Brandeis University’s Legal Studies program since 1998, and in the American Studies programs since 2015. He is the winner of the 2017 Louis Dembitz Brandeis Prize for Excellence in Teaching.

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Professor Mina Cho is a classically trained jazz musician. Cho is also Contemporary Music Director at Somerville Community Baptist Church. Cho holds a doctoral degree in Jazz Studies–Composition & Musicology from the New England Conservatory and is a PhD candidate in Musicology at Brandeis University. She teaches at Emerson College.

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This event is part of programming for the Somerville Museum’s Faith in a City exhibit, a project exploring religion in Somerville, Massachusetts through music, photography, interviews, video and history as a way of better understanding the city. Have you visited the exhibit? Matt Kaliner, Chair of the Somerville Arts Council Board, says, “I visited the Somerville Museum Faith in a City exhibit and I was blown away. I’ve lived in Somerville for nearly 20 years, and it made me see the city in a new way. I really can’t say enough – it is an incredible achievement.”