An adjunct instructor at Peabody since 1994, David Hildebrand is a specialist in Early American Music. He has been performing professionally since 1980, mostly in duet with his wife Ginger (MM ’88, Guitar). David and Ginger present concerts and educational programs throughout the country for museums, historical societies, schools, colleges, and universities.  David also consults, lectures widely, and teaches privately.

David received his BS from Dickinson College, an MA in musicology from George Washington University, and his Ph.D. in Musicology from The Catholic University of America. In 2017, Johns Hopkins University Press published Musical Maryland: A History of Song and Performance from the Colonial Period to the Age of Radio (which David co-authored with Elizabeth Schaaf, founding Archivist at Peabody).  This book serves as the basis for a course first taught in the spring of 2018 and being adapted further in the spring of 2019.

The Hildebrands’ music enlivens the soundtracks of public television documentaries like Rediscovering George Washington, Liberty! — the American Revolution, and Anthem – The Story of “The Star-Spangled Banner.  Among seven full-length CD recordings are George Washington: Music for the First President, and, most recently, Music of the War of 1812.  David was a 2016-17 residential Fellow at Mount Vernon’s National Library for the study of George Washington.  His full cv, concert schedule, and listing of publications are all accessible at www.colonialmusic.org.