People collect things. Whether objects, recorded thoughts, musical compositions, or even museum holdings, the assemblages we create speak to our relationships with self and society. Visit the Read House & Gardens virtually on April 9 to explore these questions with John Walthausen, an internationally acclaimed harpsichordist and organist. Following a pre-recorded performance, Walthausen will join director Brenton Grom in a live fireside chat open to audience participation.

The program will feature French harpsichord music from the 1660s through the 1740s, paired with Japanese poems from the Pillow Book manuscript completed in A.D. 1002. Walthausen has selected pieces by Rameau, d’Anglebert, Royer, the Couperins, and others according to period practice, where players sometimes created suites of miscellaneous pieces by culling them from larger collections.

As collections of the day-to-day thoughts of Sei Shōnagon, a lady at the Japanese imperial court, the contents of the Pillow Book take miscellany to an extreme form. Both genres offer a chance to reflect on how meaning is created through context and association, as well as how collecting can be both a private and public act. Might this inform the way we see the rooms and furnishings of a historic house museum?

Ticketing Info

Each ticketing transaction will generate a link for viewing on one device, which may viewed by a single person or multiple people. We ask that you pay what you're able, and as a guideline we suggest $25/individual or $50/couple. If you're viewing as a family, are a student, or for any other reason would prefer to calculate your contribution at a different rate, please feel welcome to do so. This event is open to all.

If you're able to help offset the cost of this program at a level higher than the suggested rate, we welcome your support and thank you for your generosity!

About John Walthausen

John Walthausen is an increasingly sought-after organ and harpsichord soloist and ensemble artist with a worldwide performance career. Prior to returning home to the United States in 2016, he was heard in concert throughout Europe, including Paris, Chartres, Poitiers, Toulouse, Hamburg, Milan, Treviso, Innsbruck, Basel, and Zurich. From 2015 to 2016, he served as Organist in Residence at Sapporo Concert Hall in Hokkaido, Japan, where he performed and recorded on the Hall’s four-manual organ by Alfred Kern, as well as elsewhere throughout the country.

Walthausen holds degrees from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris, and the Schola Cantorum of Basel, Switzerland. He currently resides in Philadelphia, where he co-founded the ensemble Filament with baroque violinist Evan Few and viola da gamba player Elena Smith and is Director of Music at the First Presbyterian Church of Germantown. He plays frequently in his home city and across the East Coast, including with ensembles such as the Washington Bach Consort, New York Baroque, Barock Band, and Variant 6.

Brenton Grom joined the Delaware Historical Society in 2016 and in 2018 was appointed Director of the George Read II House & Gardens after serving as Curator of Special Collections. He also founded and directs the Harry N. Baetjer III Junior Fellows Program, a summer internship and seminar for high-school students, and is a co-chair of the Millennial Summit, a conference that promotes impact-driven leadership across economic sectors. Grom studied piano and music history at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and Case Western Reserve University, as well as American history and material culture at the University of Delaware.