"Remember the Ladies": The World Premiere of a New Choral Work by Dr. Melissa Dunphy

ABOUT THIS EVENT

When acclaimed contemporary composer Dr. Melissa Dunphy heard that Abigail Adams’s famed “Remember the Ladies” letter would return to Philadelphia as part of the Museum’s When Women Lost the Vote: A Revolutionary Story, 1776-1807 special exhibit, she was inspired to interpret — through music — what Adams’s powerful words could mean for our current moment. On March 25, join Dunphy in a live broadcast from the Museum for the choral world premiere of Dunphy’s “Remember the Ladies,” which sets excerpts from the letter for a cappella mixed chorus, performed by the 40-voice community choir PhilHarmonia.

Prior to the premiere, hear about Adams’s power of the pen in an interactive discussion with Dr. Dunphy led by the Museum’s Dr. Tyler Putman, Manager of Gallery Interpretation, and featuring Gwen Fries, Production Editor of the Adams Papers Editorial Project at Massachusetts Historical Society. Following the performance, PhilHarmonia Executive Director Sara H. Brown, PhilHarmonia Artistic Director Mitos Andaya Hart and Audio Engineer Ryan LaRocque will join the panel to discuss how writing, performing, and composing inspire a sense of community in otherwise dark moments of history.

Adams’s original “Remember the Ladies” letter, written to her husband John on March 31, 1776, is on loan to the Museum from the Massachusetts Historical Society and featured as part When Women Lost the Vote: A Revolutionary Story 1776-1807, now on view through April 25, 2021 and available online anytime.