planning is underway for our 2026 season!
The Laurent House is currently closed for public tours, but we’ll reopen for the 2026 season on Friday, April 3rd. Planning is underway for the new season, with lots of exciting events in store, so be sure to check back in March to see this year’s calendar of events!
Private tours are available year-round and can be scheduled by calling 815.877.2952 or e-mailing marybeth@laurenthouse.com
—save the date—
In-house concert with cellist mike block on may 30th
Mark your calendars for an in-house concert with Cellist Mike Block on Saturday, May 30th!
Mike Block is a Grammy® winning multi-style cellist, composer, singer, and educator with a passion for cross-cultural collaborations. Hailed as “one of the bravest, most intriguing musicians on the American fusion scene” by Gramophone, he was acclaimed by the New York Times for his “vital rich-hued solo playing.”
Mike Block composed and recently premiered “Hope on the Hill,” a suite of music inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright’s personal life and artistic philosophy. Mike’s experience performing Frank Lloyd Wright house concerts as Artist-in-Residence at Taliesin, and as director of the annual Insight/Onsite Creative Music Retreat at Fallingwater has allowed him access to Wright’s buildings and land to inspire his creative work. It is this seed material, created within the spaces Wright himself designed and spent time in, that is the source material for this composition.
As a recording artist, Mike has released 20 albums of his own music that regularly chart near the top of multiple Billboard categories. In addition to being part of several touring bands, Mike has been a member of the Silk Road Ensemble, founded by Yo-Yo Ma, since 2005, and earned a 2017 Grammy® Award for Best Global Music Album.
Stay tuned for more details and tickets!
save the date for bourbon, brisket & blues!
Mark your calendars for Bourbon, Brisket & Blues, our annual fundraiser to support the ongoing preservation of the Laurent House! This year’s event will take place on Saturday evening, September 12, 2026 at the Laurent House. Details coming soon!
—save the date—
The ghost of mamah borthwick on october 17th
Mark your calendars as the Laurent House and Pettit Chapel – both designed by famed-architect Frank Lloyd Wright – present Ellie Carlson as the ghost of Mamah Bouton Borthwick, the great love of Frank Lloyd Wright’s life. Mamah, for whom Taliesin was built, was brutally murdered, along with her children, at Taliesin in 1914. Ms. Carlson presents Mamah as a ghost at the moment of her death to tell her story of her life with Frank Lloyd Wright.
This presentation will be held at the Pettit Chapel in the Belvidere Cemetery and will be followed by an optional tour of the Laurent House in Rockford (20 minutes from the chapel).
The presentation will take place on Saturday, October 17th. Stay tuned for more details and tickets!