February 9, 19 2 2 MUSICAL COURIER 12 to react to the benefit of the pupil as well as the teacher. The substitution of facts for suppositions is of great advantage to the teacher, and safeguards the interests of the pupil in a degree hardly possible by other means. Washington Heights Club Active “I am writing to give you some information as to the progress of the Washington Heights Musical Club during the present season. We are at present forty in number, having lost a few members this fall partly through the agency of Dan Cupid (for which we accept no responsibility whatever), and added several new members to our list, including Mary Houghton Brown, Mus.B., who at present is living in E. Greenwich, R. I., and is coming down to play for us at our Open Meeting in March, and expects to be present at our January recital as well as other meetings during the balance of the season. We are^also fortunate enough to number among our members Ethel Grow (contralto), Regina Kahl (mezzo contralto), and Robert Low-rey and Anita Wolff (concert pianists). “Our open meeting and Mr. Lowrey’s recital have already received notice in your columns, and we had large and delighted audiences at each function'. “The informal ‘at homes’ instituted by me this season and which are held at 27 West 57th street the first Friday evening of each month are proving both enjoyable and profitable—profitable from the point of view that members who attend them (and most members do!) are beginning to look upon their music as a source of intimate enjoyment as well as something to which we must dedicate all our serious thought and effort. Even the shyest of them now bring their songs and piano music, their violins and cellos, unasked, to these informal Friday evenings to show us some beautiful discovery they have made, to exchange ideas with regard to a work that interests them, or in the hope of finding some members there who will try a new piece of ensemble music with them. And all are so happy that it makes one wonder why it seems necessary in so many cases to offer dinners and dances to promote a feeling of good fellowship among fellow workers in the realm of music. “The Junior Branch held its first meeting on Saturday afternoon, January 7, and doubled its membership at that meeting. There were several of the older members present, and after the youngsters had given their program, all turned to and gave them a happy time. It must in justice be said that the membership of this branch is small, but there are more members pledged to come in and its first meeting was most auspicious, the program having been excellently rendered by Muriel Van Reed and Master Robert Burton. “On January J1 will be the Club Recital, given by Ethel Grow, contralto, whose audience, judging,by the friends she made at her recital in October and other singing she has done, should fill the Rose Room of the Plaza to overflowing, and March 21 will see our last open meeting for this season. We are planning increased activities for next season, a report of which will follow in due season. “Very truly yours, “January 28, 1922. (Signed) Jane Cathcart.” Mme. Bailey-Apfelbeck to Play Ten Concertos William H. Pontius, director of the Minneapolis School of Music, announces that Mme. Bailey-Apfelbeck, both pianist and pedagogue, who only recently appeared as soloist with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, under Emil Oberhoffer, conductor, playing Grieg’s A minor concerto with signal success, is soon to appear in three extraordinary concerts in the recital hall of the school. Mme. Bailey-Apfelbeck will offer ten concertos for the series of three concerts as follows: Schumann A minor, Beethoven C minor, Tschaikowsky В flat minor. Mendelssohn G minor, Saint-Saëns G minor, Strauss “Burlesque,” Liszt Hungarian fantasie, Rubinstein D minor. Beethoven E flat major, Brahms В flat major. The orchestral parts will be supplied on a second piano by ten artist pupils chosen from Mme. Bailey-Apfelbeck’s master classes. Since going to Minneapolis her art and ability as a teacher have been widely recognized throughout the entire Northwest, and her teaching time is filled with appointments, including many advanced students and teachers. Director Pontius announces that Mme. Bailey-Apfelbeck is to conduct master classes for the special summer term which opens June 19 and continues for eight weeks. The first concert of the series of three is scheduled for Wednesday evening, February 15. Bayerlee Jubilee Reception Marking the occasion of Johanna Bayerlee’s Jubilee as representative and teacher of the celebrated Stockhausen method in America, her pupils made the event notable, uniting in testimonial to her abilities as teacher, and in their affection for her. It took place in the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel Apartments, January 27, when during the course of the affair the following artist-pupils sang: Devora Nad-worney, mezzo contralto, national prize winner, 1921, of the National Federation of Musical Clubs; Katherine Kunz, mezzo soprano, assistant professor Hunter College, New York City; Florence Hendrickson, contralto; Anna Boris-soff, soprano; Sara Shuttleworth, soprano; Genevieve Rose, lyric-dramatic soprano, and Max Josman, tenor-baritone. Accompaniments and solo selections were by Arthur Klein, concert pianist. “The Tides,” sung by Miss Nadworney, was accompanied by the composer, Farley, and “Swans,” by Walter Kramer. A large and distinguished company attended the brilliant affair. Meldrum to Appear in Concert at Troy Due to the success of his annual New York recital at Aeolian Hall on January 26, John Meldrum has been engaged for a concert to be held in Troy, N. Y., on February 13. Why a Study of the Pathology of the Nose and Throat Is Indispensable to the Teacher of Singing By WILLIAM A. C. ZERFFI of preventing the affection from becoming acute. It must be remembered that the singer’s instrument is an inseparable part of him, dependent upon his physical and mental well-being for its efficiency and dependability. This fact alone should be sufficient to indicate the unavoidable relationship between the study of the pathology׳ of the nose and throat and the teaching of singing. The writer is fully aware of the tendency towards hypocondria to which singers are liable to be subject, and this particular tendency itself furnishes a most powerful argument in favor of the teacher being in possession of such knowledge as will enable him to determine whether the difficulty the singer is experiencing is of physical or psychological origin. His is the task to discover whether the trouble can be traced to nose, throat, larynx or brain, and failure to diagnose correctly inhibits the cure. “Colds." This extremely ambiguous title usually includes every affection of the nose and throat ranging from a slight head cold to acute laryngitis. It is frequently of grave importance for the teacher to be able to determine the location of the “cold” and its degree of seriousness. Needless to say, consultation with a throat specialist would achieve this result, but, as a rule, it is necessary to decide immediately whether the pupil should or should not sing, and the advice of a doctor is not always available. For example, a pupil may complain of a cold and be slightly hoarse. If the cold is confined to the nose and the hoarseness due to the presence of an excess of mucus in the larynx, careful singing is by no means injurious and will usually tend to relieve’ the hoarseness. If, however, the hoarseness is due to any affection of the vocal cords, singing will aggravate the trouble. Singing Over a Cold. This phrase, which is current among singers, represents one of the most dangerous and destructive practices in which singers indulge, and can not be too strongly condemned. Just how dangerous it is depends very naturally upon the location of the cold, for as has already been explained, to sing with a slight inflammation of the mucous membrane of the note entails no serious consequences. Let it, however, be understood by all who indulge in this practice, that the attempt to sing over an attack of laryngitis may result in complete loss of the singing voice! In fact the attempt to speak while the larynx is acutely inflamed may bring about the same unfortunate result. Where any doubt exists as to the advisability of singing, a glance at the vocal cords is enough to dispel the doubt and the teacher is in a position either to advise “singing” or “silence” according to the picture the mirror reveals. Laryngoscopy. A successful examination of the larynx is a task which requires a certain amount of practice and skill, and yet the benefits derived therefrom both to teacher and pupil can hardly be overestimated. This must not be taken to imply that anything of direct benefit to the singer as regards voice production can be learned from an examinatK’*1 of the larynx, for as has so often been said—and yet it seems imperfectly realized—the action of the larynx is entirely subconscious or automatic. The advantages of laryngoscopy are to be regarded solely from a pathological standpoint, since it renders the early recognition of abnormal conditions possible. Attempts to use the laryngoscope as a direct aid to voice production are but wasted time and effort, and can not be too severely condemned. A Protection for the Pupil. The writer feels very strongly that the acquirement of knowledge such as has been suggested above, can not fail [This is the first of a series of articles written especially for the Musical Courier by Mr. Zerffi on a subject that can not fail to be of interest to all vocalists. The second article will be “Abnormal Conditions of the Nose and Throat As a Hindrance to Effective Singing,” and will appear in an early issue.—Editor’s Note.] Whether it is necessary for the teacher of singing to acquaint himself with even the most elementary facts concerning the pathology of the nose and throat, is a question which will, I feel sure, be considered by many to be not only useless but also utterly futile. If the office of a teacher of singing were analogous to that of the teacher of piano or violin, this view would possibly be justified, but responsibilities which rest upon the shoulders of the vocal teacher are far greater than those his colleagues share. His errors of judgment are liable to entail serious consequences for the pupil and the decisions which are required of him, call frequently for far more than a knowledge of music. It will be, perhaps, contended that the diagnosis of possible throat affections is a matter which concerns the doctor alone, and that it should remain outside the province of the vocal teacher. Speaking from a strictly theoretical standpoint this is undoubtedly true, but in actual practice the ability to diagnose vocal troubles and to decide whether their removal lies within the power of the teacher, or whether their origin calls for medical treatment, is a vitally important branch of a teacher’s work. That a large proportion of vocal ailments are caused by incorrect methods of voice production is true enough, and in such cases the adoption of proper habits of singing is sufficient to effect a cure. If, however, the trouble is caused by the existence of an abnormal condition of the nose or throat, much time is wasted by the failure of the teacher to recognize this condition. To depend solely upon the quality of the tone produced as to whether the voice should be used or not, is not always wise, for often the trouble is not serious enough to prevent moderately effective singing. In such cases the eye reveals much that is hidden from the ear, and a timely glance at the vocal organ may be the means Management HAENSEL