Featured photograph: Friends at the Summer Solstice Musicale, Bellevue House. Photo: David Sabot.
NEWSLETTER · NO. 1 · AUTUMN 2026
Dear Friends,
Welcome to the first newsletter of The Fleming Family Foundation. Our purpose has always been to connect the past and the present — to honor those who came before us and to build something worth passing on. In these pages we will share the work that carries that purpose forward.
This first issue is devoted to a partnership close to our hearts: our work with Historic Music of Newport, and the remarkable story of Jane Pickens, whose music has returned to the rooms of Bellevue House.
With gratitude,
Ronald Lee Fleming
LOOKING BACK
The Summer Solstice Musicale at Bellevue House
Saturday, June 20, 2026
On the longest evening of the year, friends gathered once again at Bellevue House for our Summer Solstice Musicale — a tradition now nearly twenty years old, and one that looked both forward and back this season.
We gave thanks to Sandra Ourusoff, who initiated the Musicale at Bellevue House; to Karen Hayward, who curated the evening’s program; and to the Wilson family, whose generous hospitality kept the Musicale alive in their country house through the years of Bellevue House’s recovery work. We also remembered our dear friend Rob Walker — historian, singer, and a beloved presence in Newport — whose spirit remained very much with us.
The evening held a special discovery. Bellevue House was once the home of Jane Pickens, the Macon, Georgia-born singer who became one of Newport’s most cherished figures. Working with Dr. Mark Stickney of Historic Music of Newport, we have been cataloguing and preserving a remarkable collection of her records and memorabilia found in the house — and that night, in rooms that were once her own, guests heard her music performed live.
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- Mr. Fleming on the steps of Bellevue House.
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- Guests at the Summer Solstice Musicale.
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- Double bass and trumpet during the performance.
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- Enjoying the music at Bellevue House.
IN PARTNERSHIP
Historic Music of Newport
Newport is known worldwide for its jazz, folk, and classical festivals, but its musical life runs far deeper. Founded in 2022 by Dr. Mark A. Stickney, Historic Music of Newport is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to preserving the city’s diverse musical history and telling the stories of the musicians who lived and performed there.
In just a few years, the organization has catalogued more than 1,000 pieces of music with Newport ties, researched the lives of a similar number of musicians, and gathered original sheet music, postcards, and letters. It has also restored free family concerts to Touro Park, led cemetery tours, visited local schools, and co-sponsors the Gilded Age Orchestra of Newport’s performances in the Preservation Society’s mansions.
Their work recovers the whole of Newport’s musical story — the island’s native inhabitants, enslaved and free African Americans, immigrants and locals, Army bandsmen at Fort Adams and Navy musicians, theatre players and church organists — and they are now raising funds for a museum and research center to open that archive to scholars and families alike.
Learn more about Historic Music of Newport.
COMING THIS NOVEMBER
Jane Pickens, A Life of Music and Art
Thursday, November 5, 2026 · 5:30–6:30 pm
Griswold House, Newport Art Museum
In collaboration with Historic Music of Newport
Join us for an evening celebrating the remarkable life and artistry of Jane Pickens. This program features live performances of music she composed, along with a talk tracing her journey from her childhood in Macon, Georgia to her years as a beloved Newport philanthropist. Following the presentation, guests are invited to a reception showcasing selections of her visual artwork.
The talk will be given by Dr. Mark A. Stickney. Tickets are $20, or $15 for Museum members.
Event details and tickets for Jane Pickens, A Life of Music and Art
AN EVENING AT ROSECLIFF
A Newport Songbook
Thursday, November 12, 2026 · 6:00–8:00 pm
Rosecliff, 548 Bellevue Avenue · Reception from 5:30 pm
A Newport Songbook celebrates the city’s cultural heritage and the artists who shaped it, bringing back the music once heard in Newport’s opera houses, theatres, churches, and salons.
The first half revisits Newport’s vibrant 19th-century musical life, including works performed at the Newport Casino Theatre and by the famed Germania Musical Society during its summer residence there. The second half presents music by composers from the Astor, Wetmore, and Oelrichs families — fittingly, in the house built for Theresa Fair Oelrichs — and closes with music celebrating Ida Lewis, the “Heroine of Newport.”
Featuring Krista Wilhelmsen, Eric Fennell, Brian Moll, and Dr. Mark Stickney.
Event details and tickets for A Newport Songbook
Meet the performers
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- Krista Wilhelmsen
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- Eric Fennell
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- Brian Moll. Photo: Susan Wilson.
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- Dr. Mark Stickney, founder of Historic Music of Newport.
Help Preserve Newport’s Musical Heritage
Historic Music of Newport depends on the generosity of friends who believe this history is worth keeping. Learn more about their work, and consider a gift toward their research and future museum.