The Gardener of Montgomery Place and the Composer of Newburgh, New York
Sunday, May 26, 2019
Montgomery Place, Mansion
4:00 pm – 6:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
4:00 pm – 6:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
An outdoor saxophone quartet performance, part of the Spring Salon Series on Music of the Gilded Age.
During the early 19th century, the gardener at Montgomery Place was an African American slave named Alexander Gilson, who, after being freed, stayed on to continue as head gardener. He eventually opened his own nursery business. Downriver in Newburgh, New York, composer Ulysses J. Alsdorf, whose grandfather was freed by the Manumission Act of New York State on July 4, 1827, had a similar life journey. The Alsdorfs were entrepreneurs, involved in everything from catering to dance schools, and became prominent citizens of the thriving Hudson Valley City of Newburgh. Ulysses J. Alsdorf’s music was used to celebrate the Newburgh portion of the 1909 Henry Hudson–Robert Fulton Celebration, when a steamboat traveled from Manhattan to Albany, stopping in Newburgh. His music will do the same for this event, 110 years later. This event is a part of the Spring Salon Series on Music of the Gilded Age. For more information, call 845-752-5000, e-mail [email protected],
or visit http://bard.edu/montgomeryplace.
Time: 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Location: Montgomery Place, Mansion