Via Zoom, The Trent House Association presents The Practitioners of Musick in a performance honoring the Scottish heritage of William Trent and featuring music that George Washington and his family enjoyed.

Born in Inverness, Scotland, William Trent immigrated to Philadelphia and established himself as a very successful shipping merchant.  In 1714 he acquired much of the land that now is the city of Trenton and in 1719 built his Georgian style mansion on his plantation there. It is likely that General Washington visited his Deputy Quartermaster General John Cox there and may have been entertained with music.

Washington’s family – his wife Martha, her two children, and her four grandchildren – all studied music. He himself was said to be especially fond of William Shield’s comic opera Rosina, which was performed in Philadelphia, the nation’s capital, during his Presidency. Some of the opera’s melodies drew on Scottish folk songs, a fact that led some to claim that Shield composed the music for “Auld Lang Syne.”

John Burkhalter and Donovan Klotzbeacher founded the Practitioners of Musick to the research and performance of the musical riches of 18th century Great Britain and the Colonial and Federal periods in America. They have performed and lectured at libraries, museums, and historic sites throughout the region and beyond.