William James Knapp was the great-grandchild of Dinah Jackson, the last person enslaved at Historic Cherry Hill in Albany, NY. After his mother died in 1854, James became a ward in Richard van Rensselaer’s household and worked as a butler for the family on State Street. Throughout his life, James also worked as a musician, a sales clerk at Hidley’s Music Store, a hospital porter, and a nurse. James lived at Cherry Hill for about sixteen months between 1880 and 1884. He played the violin, piano, flute, and other instruments, and his sheet music collection included popular, classical, and parlor music from the Victorian Era.
Dr. Christopher Brellochs, Dean of the SUNY Schenectady School of Music and Music Consultant to Historic Cherry Hill, spoke with us about the story of William James Knapp and the Capital Region during the Gilded Age, a time when Albany had a music store on almost every block. He will also lead a few discussions and performances about this at both Historic Cherry Hill and The Sembrich. Musical selections from Mr. Knapp's extensive personal collection of sheet music - acquired between 1865 to 1885 - will be performed by LayVon Scott, baritone and Dr. Elizabeth Gerbi, piano.
Thursday, June 12, at Historic Cherry Hill
historiccherryhill.org
Thursday, June 19, at the Sembrich
thesembrich.org
Gilded Memories: Music for Saxophone and Voice with Soprano Sarah Joy Miller
Saturday, June 14, at the Sembrich,
thesembrich.org
Interactive map of where the sheet music in the collection was purchased:
https://viewer.mapme.com/worldofjamesknapp