top of page

Moravian Historical Society
Museum Music & Lecture Series

Join us on Saturday, January 18 at 2:00 pm for a concert celebrating nature. 

The concert, planned to complement the special exhibition, Grounds for Meditation: Moravian Pleasure Gardens, will feature garden images, including music about fog, falling leaves, waterfalls, moonlight, crickets, and flowers.

​

The shakuhachi is an end-blown bamboo flute that has been played in Japan for over 1200 years. It is the only instrument associated with the practice of Zen Buddhism, and was performed during religious rituals by priests of the Fuke sect. Traditional shakuhachi music, or honkyoku, are performed solo and are considered to express the original voice of the bamboo.

​

Dr. Nora Suggs performs, teaches, and records on shakuhachi, and has earned her Jun shihan and Shihan certifications, and the Japanese performance name Nohraku, from Dai-Shihan James Nyoraku Schlefer in NYC. She has also studied with Dai-Shihan Kurahashi Yodo II of Kyoto, Japan, and Dai-Shihan Dr. Riley Lee of Australia.  Suggs is also the flutist and Artistic Director of the Pennsylvania-based chamber music ensemble SATORI, now in its 29th season, and for 23 years has also performed with the flute and classical guitar duo Two Part Invention. 

Shakuhachi concert.png

General admission tickets are $10, MHS members and students are free. Seating is limited, advanced reservations are recommended.

The Upper Places: Early Moravian Settlements in Nazareth 
Wednesday, November 6 at 7:00 pm

Tom McCullough, assistant archivist of the Moravian Archives in Bethlehem, will present an illustrated history of the Nazareth "Upper Places." Drawing on archival materials and collection highlights, McCullough's presentation will shed light on these Moravian settlements, including Gracedale.

​

The Northampton County-owned Gracedale Complex in Upper Nazareth Township was established as a Moravian settlement called Gnadenthal in 1745. Together with Nazareth, Christian’s Spring (Christiansbrunn), and Friedensthal, Gracedale was part of the Moravians “Upper Places,” which encompassed thousands of acres in the heart of today’s Northampton County.

 

McCullough’s talk is the culminating event in the year-long celebration of Northampton County Parks & Recreation 50th anniversary. 

General Admission Tickets | Free  

Seating is limited. Reserve your seat today.

A Traditional Moravian Singstunde
Sunday, October 20 at 3:00 pm

Join us for a traditional Moravian Singstunde accompanied by the 1776 Tannenberg organ! The Singstunde, or singing hour, will celebrate texts of unity and peace. Kyle Johnston, Associate Director at the Moravian Music Foundation, will provide a brief introduction to the practice before leading the group in a traditional Singstunde. We invite you to learn, reflect, make music, and join in a 300-year-old tradition.

Singstunde logo.png
A Stowaway Ukulele Revealed
Saturday, September 21 at 3:00 pm

Archival research, interviews, and imaging all combine to make a spellbinding story that blends biography, music, polar exploration, history, determination, courage, and romance.

 

The "Konter Ukulele" made by the famed C.F. Martin & Co. may be the most interesting ukulele in the world. It was owned by Richard Konter, who took it along on Admiral Richard Byrd’s famed expedition to the North Pole in 1926. 

Boak - Ukulele talk logo (1).png

Past Events

Copy of Early Schoolhouses Talk.png
bottom of page