Her latest work considers history, success, and the costs and fragility of victory.
In the sweltering summer of 1920, thousands of supercharged lobbyists swarmed Nashville. It was an explosive mix of opponents and supporters sparring over whether American women should be given the right to vote.
Yet there was no “given” to it. Suffragists had been speaking out since the 1840s. More than 70 years later, a massive, organized effort persuaded 35 states to let women cast a ballot.
To ratify the notion as a national privilege, a 36th state had to OK the idea. It came down to Tennessee.
This was a pivotal moment and is where acclaimed singer-songwriter Aoife O’Donovan opens her recent collection of songs.
She’ll perform with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra and the Virginia Children’s Chorus on Nov. 15 at the Ferguson Center for the Arts in Newport News. Her husband, Eric Jacobsen, the orchestra’s music director, will conduct. She has performed in Hampton Roads before, but this will be her first time on stage with Jacobsen and the orchestra.
