Library Hymn Sing at a Glance

Shhhhhh! This is a Library, We're Singing!

Going through a few thousand photos of the last year--yes, the digital camera has created far too many photos in this world!--I began to set aside some images related to books, libraries, and reading for the blog. And I realized that I hadn't had a chance to share an image of the Burke Library hymn sing, from April 2011. The hymn sing was an idea I devised as a compliment to a rare books exhibit I'd put up in February dedicated to famed 19th century hymn writers and composers Lowell Mason and Thomas Hastings--both of whom had connections with Union Theological Seminary. I'm not sure when the last time there was music, let alone singing, in the library and reading room, but it was surely a success, with requests for more concerts at the Burke. I organized another concert, which happened on Nov. 1st, and included a harpist-singer-composer, interpretive reader, and saxophonist. As we move forward with music at the Burke, we hope to also have a second hymn sing for Advent in December. The hymn sing was conducted by Yale music professor, Patrick Evans.