A Postcard from Shaker Village

September 11, 2025 marked my first official collaboration with the Louisville Orchestra as part of the Creators Corps, and I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful way to begin. The piece was a medley of Shaker hymns, and four of the six melodies originated at Pleasant Hill, the Shaker Village where the orchestra made a stop on their 2025 In Harmony: The Commonwealth Tour.

Back in May, I had flown in from Montreal to visit the village and learn about its music and customs from Sarah Porter, the music program specialist. In the bright, reverberant meeting hall, I had listened to a demonstration by Lilly, one of her team members. Until then, my knowledge of the Shakers began and ended with Simple Gifts—as I’m guessing is true for many. I hadn’t known that the name “Shakers” came from the trembling that overtook them during worship when they felt the Holy Spirit, or that dance was central to their practice. The line “To turn, turn will be our delight” referred to the literal act of spinning one’s body as a ritual of purification. Worship services could last for hours, with continuous singing and dancing; the longest on record stretched to twenty-three hours. Stomping and clapping on the wooden floor of the meeting hall created a huge, echoing sound that could be heard for over six miles.

My medley sought to balance the Shakers’ gentle, pastoral melodies with this more ecstatic side of their worship, complete with musicians stomping. The emotional high point (or perhaps… turning point?) was Pretty Mother’s Home, written at Pleasant Hill by Sister Patsy Roberts Williamson. Brought enslaved to the community by a white family in the early nineteenth century, she chose to stay after the Shakers purchased her freedom, composing many songs that remain part of the village’s legacy.(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAXCLtMVRH4)

Returning to Pleasant Hill this September was a warm and moving experience. We stayed in the historic buildings—now a hotel furnished with original Shaker pieces—and enjoyed several farm-to-table feasts. After one such meal, paired with a beautifully curated string quartet program by the LO’s principals, I got to see the meeting hall from a new perspective. Billy, the village’s President and CEO (and one of the warmest people you could hope to meet), led Maggie Eronimous and me down a ladder into the open chamber beneath the floor. He showed us the dry-stacked stone columns that support the dance floor and transmit its vibrations into the under-floor cavity—a bit like a violin’s soundpost—while the mortar-free construction lets more vibration through and the open chamber beneath adds its own resonant bloom. The next day, with Lilly’s guidance, Maggie and I also got to sing some traditional Shaker songs in the hall. The acoustic is amazing—everything resonates, and singing in that space feels like pouring liquid light from your own voice.

I especially loved wandering the grounds. The Meadow View Trail reminded me of my own childhood backyard, wild and untamed, and it led past the village’s old tobacco barn—our venue for the evening concert.

By night, the dark wood barn glowed with Edison bulbs, creating a magical atmosphere. The orchestra performed a program designed just for Shaker Village, and I was deeply moved to hear them play my music for the first time. They brought it to life beautifully, and I was especially grateful for concertmaster Gabe Lefkowitz’s spirited fiddling on the final two spirituals.

I left Pleasant Hill thankful—for the music, the history, the warmth of the community, and the beginning of this collaboration with the Louisville Orchestra.

-Chelsea Komschlies, Active Creator in Residence