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Historical Society launches new “intimate” concert series, bringing Hillary House back to roots

October 16, 2026   ·   0 Comments

More than 150 years ago, the family that called Hillary House home built a second-floor ballroom to serve as a salon for music, dance, and the arts. Now, the Aurora Historical Society is set to bring the National Historic Site’s space back to its roots with the launch of a new “intimate” music series this month.

The Hillary House Intimate Concert Series: Up Close. Unplugged. Unforgettable will begin Saturday, October 24 when author Paul Weston and pianist Joanna Grace present a program of classical works by Lutosławski, Mozart, Baermann, and Arnold, showcasing the expressive blend of clarinet and piano in a close‑up setting.

“Together, they bring a warm, collaborative energy to the Ballroom, pairing rich musical selections with brief readings from Paul’s books to create an evening that moves seamlessly between performance and storytelling,” say organizers.

The new concert series is the brainchild of Aurora Historical Society (AHS) board member Angela Trevivian, who pitched the idea to fellow Board members and AHS curator Kathleen Vahey as a way to bring new audiences into Aurora’s only National Historic Site while, at the same time, staying true to the building’s heritage.

“I’m new on the Board and we’re looking for fundraising ideas and something I really want to get across with all this is that Hillary House is a charity, we don’t get a lot of money, and everything we do is a fundraiser,” says Trevivian, noting the idea for a house concert came from a friend who has held similar salons in Toronto. “There have been musical performances here from the 1800s, so why not continue that beautiful tradition? Hillary House is a home and I just love the idea of people being able to speak to the musicians in an intimate, curated event.”

Vahey said she loved the idea when it was first presented to her, adding that any idea that gets more people through their Yonge Street doors gets her vote.

“It’s these new ideas that bring people into the house who might never have seen themselves in that space before, and then come new admirers of the museum and its history and hopefully they come back,” says Vahey. “Pre-COVID, they did Christmas concerts in the ballroom and other musical performances, but in our research we know that Dr. Hillary Sr. was part of the Aurora Orchestra in the 1870s and 1880s and they would hold orchestra performances in the ballroom. It’s continuing the legacy of Hillary House being a meeting spot, a community hub for enjoying music. We have so many musical instruments in the house and collection it really feels like a homage to the family’s intentions for the space and how they used it.”

The intimate concert experience will be capped at 25 attendees, with each ticket sold contributing vital funds for the long-term survival of Hillary House.

A top priority for the Aurora Historical Society is remediation work on the house’s foundations, some of which haven’t been touched since the 1860s.

Vahey says foundation work is estimated to cost in the neighbourhood of $750,000, with the Town of Aurora pledging $150,000 towards the total, with additional provincial and federal funding hoped for down the line.

“Foundation work isn’t always the flashiest of restoration work but it’s so essential. It’s literally the base [that] everything is on top of and grows from,” says Vahey.

And it is hoped that support for the new concert series contributing to this goal will only grow as well.

Following the inaugural concert this weekend, the series will return Saturday, November 7, with violin-piano duo Gemmell & Smith; on Saturday, April 10, with soprano Nicole Whitney Dubinsky and conductor-pianist Suzanne Yeo; and on Saturday, May 1, with cellist Dr. Dobrochna Zubek and pianist Dr. Lisa Tahara with their Zuhara Duo performance.

Individual tickets for each concert is $75, with additional packages available at the box office for multiple shows.

For more information, visit aurorahs.com/intimate-concert-series.

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

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