Society of American Music Conference: Vivian Perlis Concert

Department of Music Free Concert Series

The Society for American Music is delighted to feature the Legendary Ingramettes at its annual Vivian Perlis Concert. The Legendary Ingramettes bring six decades of music, sixty-five years of song, and generations tied together through the force of will of a matriarchy of powerful Black women. The African-American gospel group was founded by Maggie Ingram (who passed away in 2015) as a way to keep her family together through hardship and taken up by her daughter Almeta Ingram-Miller as a way to continue Maggie’s legacy. Inspired by the Black gospel male quartets of the 1940s and ‘50s, now known as Richmond, Virginia’s “First Family of Gospel Music” The Legendary Ingramettes bring roof-raising harmonies and explosively powerful vocals, all driven by the voices of women backed by a rock-solid house-shaking rhythm section.

This concert series is part of the annual conference for the Society of American music and it honors Vivian Perlis, whose publications, scholarly activities, and direction of the Oral History of American Music (OHAM) project at Yale University have made immeasurable contributions to our understanding of American composers and music cultures. The Society for American Music is grateful to the Virgil Thomson Foundation, the Aaron Copland Fund, the University of Richmond Department of Music, the Humanities Resource Center at Virginia Commonwealth University, and to members of the Society for their generous support. 

This concert is offered as part of the Department of Music Free Concert Series 2025-26 Season. The Department of Music produces over 25 concerts annually featuring a broad range of styles and genres. Enjoy student recitals, faculty ensemble performances, and concerts created in collaboration with visiting artists. All concerts are FREE and seating is general admission. Registration is encouraged, and all will be welcomed as space allows.