Mary Lyon Concerts

Instrumental music has been at the core of Mount Holyoke College since our founding. Mary Lyon moved a piano into Seminary Hall almost as quickly as she shelved the library’s first books. She believed instrumental music taught young women discipline, provided students with language in a different chord, and—most importantly—Mary Lyon understood that music has the power to console a troubled heart and uplift the human spirit.

The Mary Lyon concerts commemorate the central role of music in Mount Holyoke College's history by celebrating the contributions of women musicians and women in general, through music. The programming therefore gives voice to the often under-represented work of women in music.