Music for Lafayette: A Concert by Music Historians David and Ginger Hildebrand

Join us for a special concert featuring 18th and 19th-century music in commemoration of General Lafayette's grand U.S. Tour. The program includes a light reception with spirits beginning at 6:30 PM followed by the concert at 7:00 PM.

Renowned music historians David and Ginger Hildebrand will perform songs, dance tunes, and marches like what Americans would have enjoyed while remembering Lafayette and George Washington 200 years ago on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the Revolutionary War.

The Hildebrand’s will explain and demonstrate their instruments, including the harpsichord, hammered dulcimer, violin, and Spanish & English guitars.

Since 1980 the Hildebrand’s have presented concerts and educational programs throughout the country and abroad at museums, historic sites, schools, and universities. Both Hildebrand’s are resolute educators with David an American Music history teacher at The Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, and Ginger, an educator at the Severn School.

A half-century after the Revolutionary War, the Marquis De Lafayette returned to the United States for a year-long (1824-1825) tour in which he visited all 24 states of the Union. His visit was considered one of the most important public events of the 19th century.

Two hundred years later his historic visit is being commemorated with a series of special events and programs.

The Marquis de Lafayette and George Washington had an extraordinary relationship. Fort Ligonier’s George Washington Gallery displays Washington’s saddle pistols given to him by Lafayette during the Revolutionary War. Washington is said to have carried them while commander-in-chief of the Continental army at Valley Forge, Monmouth, and Yorktown. He also likely had them during the Whiskey Rebellion in western Pennsylvania in 1794. The pistols are an extraordinary symbol of the important relationship between Washington and Lafayette and the vital French support of the American Revolution.

This event is FREE to Fort Ligonier Association members if pre-registered before May 26, 2025.

The cost for non-association members who pre-register before May 26, 2025, is $30 per person.

The cost for Fort Ligonier Association members at the door will be $30 per person.

The cost for non-association members at the door will be $45 per person.