Sun. June 10

 “Rather than being macabre in any way, it’s beautiful, heartwarming.’ says Susan Wilson – photographer/historian/former pop music critic for the Globe, and, yes, a friend of the column. She is talking about Forest Hills Cemetery. Wilson and her partner, viola player Rebecca Strauss, visited Pere Lachaise cemetery and came up with an idea. “There are more famous people buried there than anywhere in the world,” says Wilson. Also, she realized famous musicians. They came up with an idea. Wilson would photograph the gravesites of some of the famous musicians buried there and put together an educational/informative slide-show. Strauss (with her string quartet plus a flautist) would play the music of those composers – people like Chopin, Rossini, Edith Piaf, Stephane Grappellli  and Jim Morrison. (That's his final resting spot, right.) They’ve done this before – they sold out in 2005 - and do so again at Forest Hills Chapel Sunday June 10 at 8 p.m. They call it "Sacred Grounds, Sacred Sounds."
Forest Hills (along with Mt. Auburn Cemetery) was modeled on the Pere Lachaise ideal – bucolic, landscaped, filled with gorgeous art work. This was Napoleon’s baby. They were places for picnics, destination locations. They were built in the 1830s. So, the transition from Paris to Jamaica Plain is not so radical. Wilson will do her photo-talk bit and Strauss and company will perform “La Vie en Rose” and “Light My Fire,” among others. (They call themselves Melodic Vision, when they do these pieces.) “There are smiles that come when people realize it’s ‘Light My Fire,’’’ says Wilson.
But that’s not all folks. Following the concert, Wilson will lead whoever wants to come on a flashlight tour of the cemetery, pointing out the famous folks and landmarks that are there. (We’ve been; there are many.) Tickets are $25.

95 Forest Hills Ave., Jamaica Plain, 617-524-3354 foresthillstrust.org