In conjunction with the exhibit “Stearns, Shaw, and the Hallowells,” the Medford Historical Society & Museum presents “Music from the Heart: Rediscovering the Calhoun Plantation Songs.” The concert will feature a performance of spirituals compiled by West Medford’s Emily Hallowell, daughter of Edward Hallowell, when she taught in Alabama’s Calhoun Colored School in the 1890s. A live performance by Medford vocalist Stacy Clayton will re-create these sacred folks songs after historian Dee Morris highlights Emily’s life-changing adventure. Kyna Hamill and Wanda Strukus of the Two Roads Theater Project will also perform as part of this multi-media event.

The MHSM exhibit, which opens on April 7, features items from its Civil War Collections, drawing attention to the connections between George Luther Stearns, Robert Gould Shaw, and the Medford Hallowell brothers, Edward and Norwood. Stearns, who recruited Black Infantry Union troops, recommended Shaw to train and lead the Massachusetts 54th Infantry. Shaw was killed at Fort Wagner; today a stately statue stands at the top of the Boston Common, dedicated to Shaw and the Massachusetts 54th. Medford’s Edward Hallowell would take Shaw’s place; Edward’s brother Norwood led the 55th Massachusetts.