Yesterday a part of America’s past took center stage on campus. Two musicians, Scottish fiddler David Gardner and Irish harpist Stephen Moore, from Colonial Williamsburg performed holiday carols and ballads as part of the College of Arts and Sciences Forum Series.
“It’s just a good time of the year for spiritual holiday music,” said Mary Hitt, administrative secretary to the dean at the College of Arts and Sciences.
The musicians visit is not the first time they have come to campus. According to Hitt, musicians from the historical city have been frequent visitors to the University.
Along with performing songs in traditional style, the musical interpreters will also performed in historical dress from centuries ago.
“They (the audience) are going to see and hear the sounds that made our country,” said Elizabeth Cole, associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences.
“They always give a great concert,” said Christopher Geist, chair of the Popular Culture department. Geist has worked as a historical interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg during his breaks since 1996. While the musicians are performing holiday music, it also serves as an escape from recent events.
“It’s just something that makes people feel good,” Cole said, “Arts can be a healing factor.”
Along with performing to an afternoon crowd, Moore and Gardner spoke to professor Lucy Long’s folk music class. “I wanted the class to hear live people,” Long said.
Long also said that the musicians deal with topics that have been discussed in her class. “They have to deal with issues of authenticity everyday. … They might ask themselves, ‘Is it my job to entertain or is it my job to be educational.'”
Colonial Williamsburg is a working city and historical museum. According to the Colonial Williamsburg website, the city spans 173 acres with over 500 historical buildings. The city served as the capitol of the Virginia colony until it was moved to Richmond in 1870. The idea to restore the city came in 1903 when the Reverend W. A. R. Goodwin arrived. In 1926 John D. Rockefeller Jr. took on the mission of restoring the town to its appearance from the colonial era.
