Putting music in the context of the times

A guitar exhibit at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, curated by Mansfield resident Daniel Cavicchi (at left). (Grammy Museum)

The first guitars of Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie. A letter from the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. thanking Harry Belafonte for marching in a freedom parade. The baton and gloves of John Philip Sousa. These are just some of the treasures scored by Mansfield resident Daniel Cavicchi for "Songs of Conscience, Sounds of Freedom," an exhibit he created at the newly opened Grammy Museum in Los Angeles.

Cavicchi, a professor at the Rhode Island School of Design, teaches such courses as "Jazz in America" and "Popular Music and Politics." Researching music's place in American politics was one of the most fascinating gigs he has ever had, he said.

"It was incredibly exciting to be able to investigate the history of music and politics firsthand, getting to read Martin Luther King's letters, or looking at the original contract of the Motor City 5 at Electra Records," said Cavicchi, who commutes daily by train from Mansfield to Providence. "It took a long time, and I visited a lot of places."

Cavicchi is a hard-core music lover and ethnomusicologist. As project manager at the Experience Music Project in Seattle, a rock 'n' roll museum, Cavicchi got to know Robert Santelli, who would become director of the Grammy Museum. Knowing that Cavicchi had developed a social studies curriculum for movie director Martin Scorsese's PBS series "The Blues," Santelli asked if he wanted to curate an exhibit on music and politics. Cavicchi leaped at the chance.

"I learned some fascinating things; I didn't know people like composers Aaron Copland ("Fanfare for the Common Man") or Yip Harburg ("Somewhere Over the Rainbow") had been blacklisted in the 1950s and had a hard time continuing their work because of their political sympathies," he said. As part of the exhibit research, he got to read FBI files on John Lennon and other musicians considered subversive by the agency.

He interviewed folk legend Pete Seeger and mentioned that the "The Star-Spangled Banner" was set to the music of an old English drinking song. Seeger smiled - and sang every verse of that song. In the museum exhibit, there are hundreds of artifacts, including Seeger's trademark banjo, one he used for more than six decades.

"It was quite complicated," Cavicchi said of creating the exhibit, which included setting up a mock exhibit all over his Mansfield home to get a feel for how it would look. "But in the end, I think it came out pretty well."

To learn more about the new Grammy Museum, visit www.grammymuseum.org.

IT'S IN THE CARDS: The Kingston/Plympton Girls Travel Basketball League, for girls in grades 5 through 8, will hold a Texas Hold 'Em benefit tournament at Hilltop Athletic Club, 65 Pottle St., Kingston, Feb. 1 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. All proceeds benefit the league. Cost of participating is $75 in advance, $100 at the door. Top prize is estimated to be $1,500. To reserve space, call organizer John Steele at 781-585-2010. To learn more about Kingston/Plympton Girls Travel Basketball League, visit www.kingstonflames.org

LOOKING GOOD FOR CHARITY: Photographer Kerry Brett of Hingham is offering a portrait package for January and February to raise money for the Ellie Fund, a nonprofit dedicated to providing breast cancer support. Brett's portrait program has raised more than $100,000 for the fund since 2001. The $150 package includes a one-hour studio sitting and a black-and-white 8-by-10 portrait; payment goes directly to the Ellie Fund. For information, call Brett at 781-749-8205 or e-mail info@brettphotography.com.

ON TO 105: Edith Swann celebrated her 104th birthday Wednesday at the Village at Willow Crossings, a senior community in Mansfield. She was born in 1905 in Lynn, married the late Reginald LeGrand Swann, and lived in New York, working as a travel agent. She exercises every day and rarely takes an aspirin or uses a walker, officials at Willow Crossings said.

PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLARS: Meaghan Roche, a history teacher at Archbishop Williams High School in Braintree, has won praise for a project assigned to her senior classes that focused on the lives and times of US presidents. She was recognized by the University of Kansas and its Rubistar program for providing students time in the 2007-2008 school year to compile portfolios of specific presidential terms, from John F. Kennedy through Bill. Clinton, each containing primary source documents, written research, and personal analysis.

BUSINESS BRIEFS: George D. Jamieson of Norwell has opened Capital Commercial Real Estate LLC in Hingham, a commercial brokerage and advisory firm. Jamieson previously was with Jack Conway and Co. in Norwell.

Lori Provo, an appraiser with Cohasset Jewelers, has been accepted as a member of the National Association of Jewelry Appraisers.

Paul E. Kandarian can be reached at kandarian@globe.com.