Rock & Reel: Monticello’s Black Fiddlers

What sounds might a visitor to Monticello have heard? Music was often in the air – Thomas Jefferson was a violinist, and nearly every member of his family also played an instrument, including his three enslaved sons with Sally Hemings, all of whom played fiddle. On Charlottesville’s Main Street, the Scott family, related by marriage to the Hemings clan, boasted three generations of fiddlers who played for every sitting president for decades. This presentation explores the unique repertoire of these accomplished Black fiddlers, which ranged from raucous reels to stately minuets.