William Billings
(1746-1800)
250th Birthday Celebrations in Boston

The party's over!

Our celebrations of the 250th birthday of colonial and revolutionary
America's preeminent composer are now history.

See you in 2000 for the Big Billings Bicentennial!
Send us e-mail if you want to be on our mailing list.

--THE AD-HOC BILLINGS BIRTHDAY COMMITTEE
(soon to be reorganized as the Billings 2000 Memorial Committee)
Gina Balestracci, Montclair, NJ    Sheila Beardslee Bosworth, Acton, MA
Ginnie Ely, North Reading, MA   Roland Hutchinson, Montclair, NJ

Billings Birthday main page | More photos | Report | Minutes
Original page | First press release | Background article | Repertoire list

[Photo: Central Burying Ground on Boston Common. Singers in the distance, old tombstones in the forground.]
 
More than 130 singers gathered at the Central Burying Ground on Boston Common to pay respects to William Billings on his 250th Birthday. Photo: Margaret Bornick

 

You can read about what happened either in a new press release or, at greater length, in the official minutes.

You also can still view the original William Billings Birthday '96 web page, with a newly "discovered" birthday picture by Paul Revere (mostly) used as the frontispiece of The William Billings Birthday Book, links to information about Billings and his music, various announcements about celebrations held in Boston, and pointers to information on the net about Sacred Harp singing in Boston and New England.


[Photo: Leader in foreground, looking at music with right hand raised; singers in background.]
 
Neely Bruce prepares to lead Billings' anthem THE DYING CHRISTIAN TO HIS SOUL ("Vital Spark of Heav'nly Flame"), words by the English poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744). Photo: Laura Densmore


[Photo: Singers with varied expressions in the sunlight on Boston Common]

It was a perfect crisp and clear New England fall afternoon, and a GREAT DAY FOR SINGING! Photo: Laura Densmore

W3C Wilbur Checked!
(except for the white background color in the tables displaying the photographs, which the HTML 3.2 Reference Specification says is supported by "newer browsers.")