In 2024 and 2025, Dr. Katie Callam and I co-curated “Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Maud Cuney-Hare,” a celebration of the 150th birthday of trailblazing music historian, pianist, and community organizer Maud Cuney-Hare (1874-1936), a graduate of the New England Conservatory who lived in the Boston area for much of her adult life. Cuney-Hare was the first Black woman to publish a book-length history of Black music in the Americas (1936). Though hers is not a well-known name today, her writing (including in the NAACP journal The Crisis), exhibits, concerts, and other events shared Black music history with audiences across Boston and beyond during her lifetime.
Our two-day celebration in October 2024 took place at Harvard University. It featured a panel discussion with both scholars and community leaders, a keynote address by Professor Mark Burford (Reed College), an exhibit of archival materials, a walking tour, and a concert of music from Cuney-Hare’s archived collection of sheet music.
The exhibit has since been installed at New England Conservatory (November-December 2024) and the Gordon Library at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (January-May 2025).
An archived version of the event website is available here. A copy of the event program is available here. Please contact us with any questions!
Lucy Caplan 