HEARTS Event - Napoleon's Ney?

The Mystery of Peter Stuart Ney: What Richard Torrance learned both inside and outside the classroom

Explore a local ‘history mystery’ at the August HEARTS happening at Huntersville’s historic Cedar Grove and Hugh Torance House and Store.  Peter Stuart Ney has been hotly debated in our region for more than 150 years. Ney made headlines recently when a French documentary crew came to Rowan County to exhume his body in search of DNA evidence that could solve the mystery once and for all. Join us as local historian Dr. Gary Freeze explores this baffling mystery and why it mattered to the Torrance family.  A retired professor of history at Catawba College in Salisbury, Dr. Freeze specializes in the history of the North Carolina Piedmont. He is the author of state history for the middle school level and a half dozen scholarly articles on regional history.

This month's 'Cedar Groove' welcomes special guests that will take us on a musical journey back to the time of Peter Stewart Ney.  HEARTS is delighted to present an all-star lineup of local classical musicians performing chamber music popular in Europe in the late classical and early romantic periods. The ensemble features David Strassberg and Amanda Gentile on violin, Kirsten Allen on viola, and Liz Burns on cello.

Amanda Gentile on violin. 

Members of this talented group performed with Andrea Bocelli on his recent visit to Charlotte, as well as with the Charlotte Symphony, Union Symphony, Rock Hill Symphony, and the Greenville Symphony. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to hear period chamber music in a historic setting with acoustics as beautiful as the architecture.

Among the composers featured in the program will be Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. Widely considered the first classical composer of African ancestry, Saint-Georges was a composer, conductor, and virtuoso violinist in Paris in the late 18th century.

This free community event for all is made possible by dedicated volunteers, HEARTS Circle members, Lake Norman Realty, and community donations. All proceeds benefit HTHS’s efforts to further the HEARTS mission of historic preservation, ecological conservation, and forging community connections in our region.

Up next, in September, Cedar Grove will be fully open to HEARTS Circle members for the first members-only gala.