History of Art Salons

I started the Salon in Philadelphia in 1986 as a way of carrying on the European Salon tradition of music in the home, to foster collaboration among artists and to build a joyful community around the arts. I have had 1 Salon a month in my home for 27 years. During that time, there have been over 6000 performers and over 16,000 audience members coming through my living room. The Salon in Philadelphia continues to thrive and since mine turned 25, I have been hired by patrons and organizations around the country to help them start their own Salon series including ones in Aspen, Wynnewood, PA and Rye, NY. John and Aldalucia Zerio found me on the Internet, and we struck up a conversation about their dream to have a Salon in this beautiful space. As the curator, I tailor the Salons to the vision of the host. John wanted something that could tie into the aesthetic of the Japanese garden, along with storytelling, classical chamber music and Native American traditional music. They wanted their space to be a place for the transformation of the human spirit – and the Salon was a perfect fit. 

In the 19th Century, the Salons of Europe started to include more artists and musicians. Some of the musicians performing included the composer pianists Debussy, Chopin, Liszt, Bellini and Rossini. Paris in the mid 1800’s was the intellectual and artistic capital of the world. The Parisian Salon became a microcosm of that “new world”, a social gathering place for the most talented artists, musicians, scientists and writers of the day. New works were premiered, events were held to benefit an assortment of causes, anniversaries of famous composers were celebrated. There were musical activities of all sorts; four-handed or two piano music making, piano accompaniment to storytelling, games, improvisations, chamber music, poetry and even musical duels. The salon “was on a par with the opera house and the concert hall as a crucial venue for the history of music.”