Harpsichords and Historic Notes

Washington Center internship provides professional experience

By Liam McBane, a Buchanan Fellow majoring in Music

My Washington, D.C., story began in September 2019 when I received an email blast about The Washington Center (TWC) Academic Internship Program. I went to the campus coordinator for the internship to learn more and soon began my internship pairing process. I hoped to work with a major performing arts organization since I’m keenly interested in arts administration.

Liam McBane

Unfortunately, performing arts organizations were not eager to take on new workers during the industry downturn due to COVID-19. TWC soon switched over to an exclusively online format, and after interviewing with several organizations, I agreed to a position with the DACOR Bacon House, a diplomatic nonprofit that wanted my musical expertise for historical research to form the basis of a special historical-musical concert series for fundraising.

My research findings were unexpected. I learned that Franklin was a prolific author of drinking songs and the inventor of . . . the glass harmonica.

Through June and July in 2020, I researched early American music intensely, presenting weekly findings to supervisors and participating in regular committee meetings to refine the direction of the project.

Drawing extensively on both web resources and the Walker Library’s holdings, I compiled about 35,000 words of research notes on the Colonial music scene and musical activities of signers of the Declaration of Independence, principally Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Francis Hopkinson. I wrote a 120-page master research report, a shorter synopsis for perusal, and an article for publication in the organization’s newsletter.

The committee I worked with will use my materials to develop the strategic plan for the concert series to present to a philanthropic underwriter.

A portrait of Benjamin Franklin at the DACOR Bacon House

My research findings were unexpected. I learned that Franklin was a prolific author of drinking songs and the inventor of the ethereal and very popular instrument now known as the glass harmonica.

Jefferson played violin in early adulthood with the governor of Virginia but stopped practicing later in life after sustaining a wrist injury, according to popular legend, attempting to vault a fence to impress a Parisian lady.

Hopkinson, who is considered the first nativeborn American composer of secular music, invented a new method for quilling the harpsichord, carried on extensive correspondence with Jefferson concerning the scientific news of the 1780s, and wrote satirical ballads for the revolutionary cause.

The historic Bacon House hosts lectures, discussions, receptions, musical performances, and other cultural events.

For instance, Hopkinson’s “The Battle of the Kegs” mocks British confusion over a winter incident in which a set of barrel-shaped floating landmines drifted harmlessly past their docked navy.

I remember my first-semester English class professor saying how much more she learned in grad school because of the years she had spent in the workforce after receiving her bachelor’s degree. I think The Washington Center program provides a similar benefit; now that I have worked, however briefly, in a significant professional position, I understand more how nonprofit employees approach problems. Overall, The Washington Center program is a high-quality educational opportunity that can greatly reward self-motivated students with experience, insight, and polished professional projects.

The DACOR Bacon House, located near the White House, houses a museum honoring the nation’s diplomatic history.