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MUSICAL COURIER
appeared every day in recitals, and Wichita had one week’s feast of good pianism. He is a sterling artist and the visit, while a business one, proved an artistic pleasure to all.
"Music week” will be observed here by special concerts in all studios and schools, and special music in the churches. On Sunday of that week the Wichita Symphony Orchestra and Municipal Chorus will give a program at the Forum.
Worcester, Mass., January 28, 1922.—Worcester is to have a male chorus of 175 voices, according to plans of the Worcester County Musical Association. Nelson P. Coffin, conductor of the Worcester Music Festival, also conductor of the Mendelssohn Glee Club of New York, will direct the chorus. Every male member of last year’s festival chorus has received notice from the music commmittee and a communication from Mr. Coffin notifying him that the male section of the festival chorus is to be built up to 175. The women of the chorus have also received letters from the committee and Mr. Coffin telling them of the plans to hold the next festival in 1923, and to hold winter and spring rehearsals for men only. The women will resume their work in October. There is no doubt that this new male chorus will appeal to more than 175 men, for it offers the singers a fine opportunity to study music. The chorus is to sing the sort of music that men’s choruses like—part songs, ranging from the negro melodies to the sublime “Omnipotence,” by Schubert. The public will be given an opportunity to hear what a chorus can do when the spring concert is given. It is planned to have the chorus sing at that time approximately a dozen miscellaneous selections. Arthur J. Bassett, president of the Association, has personally interested men of the faculty of Worcester schools and colleges in the chorus, that the faculty; as well as the students, may derive benefit from the rehearsals with Mr. Coffin. Letters have been sent to choir masters inviting members of their organizations to join the chorus..
Mabel Garrison, soprano, and Reinald Werrenrath, baritone. gave the fourth of the series of Steinert concerts, January 4, in Mechanics Hall. The singing of these artists is an artistic delight. George Siemonn and Harry Spier, accompanists, contributed greatly to the concerts.
Youngstown, Ohio, January 10, 1922.■—The third annual series of symphony concerts by the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra in Youngstown opened on December 8 with Queena Mario, soloist. So insistently did this audience applaud her singing of Micaela’s aria from “Carmen” that Conductor Sokoloff suspended the hitherto unbroken “no encore” rule and permitted her to sing also the big aria from “Traviata.” The tonal quality and finesse of ensemble of the orchestra this season surprised even its most enthusiastic admirers of past seasons. Beethoven’s fifth symphony, Stravinsky’s exciting “Fire Bird” suite, and Ippolitoff-Ivanoff’s “Caucasion Sketches” completed the program that was striking in presentation and contrast.
Lila Robeson shared the fifth Monday musicale program, December 5, with Charlotte Dixon and Mrs. Wm. Wood Gillen of this city, who played the Mozart D major sonata and Arensky suite for two pianos with much pianis-tic art. Mrs. Harry Goodbread of Cleveland was Miss Robeson’s able accompanist in two Massenet arias and groups of songs. Miss Robeson’s singing was much en-j oyed.
low prices charged and the no profit plan of operation. It has resolved itself into a popular course, n'o longer a strictly musical course, with Mrs. Fiske (who comes next month), Will Irwin and Cadman, as well as the Cherniavskys, Schu-mann-Heink, Salzedo Harp ensemble, Prihoda and Ver Haar, and one other big attraction.
There is an effort on foot to bring the entire musical chorus and orchestra from Lindsborg here. It is extraordinary to bring so large an ensemble, but Wichita has signified a desire to have them. This chorus, until the past year, has been an exclusive Lindsborg institution, but the Lindsborg authorities have allowed it to appear this season in Oklahoma City and have signified a willingness to have it sing here. It promises to be a big treat.
The moving picture shows have advanced good music this season by offering high class attractions as added numbers. Mrs. Lucias Ades, pianist, appeared one week at Wichita Theater, playing one of the Liszt concertos and a group of good, standard numbers. The Palace Theater staged a unique attraction, presenting “Five Master Pianists”—Otto Fischer, Reno B. Meyers, P. Hans Flath, Donald Williams and Wesley Farner—in ensemble playing. They made a great hit. The past week the Friends’ Glee Club appeared at the Wichita. All these attractions were local and it was a crediable move on the part of the theater managements to patronize local talent.
The Zoellner Quartet made its annual appearance on the High School course in December, playing two programs up to their usual high standard. The Zoellners have a host of friends in Wichita.
The Kansas Federation of Music Clubs, through its president, Mrs. William J. Logan of Kansas City, Kansas, has announced its first prize competition for Kansas composers. It is the aim of the federation to stimulate this line of endeavor by substantial encouragement. It reserves the right to reject any composition not meeting the requirements. The prize compositions will be given public hearing at the convention at Fort Scott, Kan., May 6 to 10. All correspondence and manuscripts are to be sent to Oscar Lofgren, Lindsborg, Kansas, before February 15. The competition is open to residents of Kansas only. Prizes are offered for a State song, chorus for ladies’ voices, violin, piano, and vocal solos; they amount to $50.00 in each instance.
Ted Shawn and company, Judith Dameron, Arthur Middleton and Ethelynde Smith were visiting artists recently.
Florence Young Brokow presented a piano pupil, Lolita Gans, in recital at the Brokaw studios.
An announcement extraordinary for Wichita is the closing of the contract with the Chicago Opera Company for an appearance here on April 21. “Faust,” with Mary Garden, Muratore and Bakalanoff in the cast, and also “Aida,” with Raisa, Lamont and Van Gordon, are the two operas to be given. The complete company and orchestra will come. “La Boheme- may be added as a matinee performance in case the evening performances are sold out. A guarantee of $30,000 was raised easily by Richard Gray of the Lassen, who obtained the necessary amount among the business men of Wichita.
Philip Gordon, pianist, and Dorothy Dickerson, soprano, spent a week in Wichita in the Ampico interests. Gordon
February 9, 192 2
greater appreciation. Helen Nye, soprano, and Theda Gschwind, contralto, rendered Blumenthal’s “Venetian Boat Song,” and they were encored. The duet was accompanied by Margarethe Breisen on the piano. Prof. Thomas E. Ryan accompanied Miss Kelley. Harry R. Hayes, chairman of the recreation commission, presided, introducing S. Wales Dixon, a Utican, and now field secretary for the Recreation Association of America. Mr. Dixon’s talk dealt largely with the infinite possibilities attendant upon big affairs of this sort, outlining the work being done through community recreation the nation. over. W. C. Batchelor, superintendent of recreation for the city, expressed himself as immensely pleased with the step taken by the sing. “It was a promising gathering,” said Mr. Batchelor, “and the first of its kind to be attempted. To me, it is but the stepping stone toward a real community chorus for the city, and a greater spirit of neighborliness and community for Utica. You may look for further events of the kind in the near future.” M. Louise Priest played accompaniments for the community singing, assisted by orchestras from the three school centers. The Park Orchestra had originally donated its services for the event, and was scheduled to take part in the program, but a meeting of the local musician’s union squashed any such charitable intention by forbidding it to play without remuneration.
Waco, Tex., January 24, 1922,^-The midwinter concert at Baylor University School of Music, of which Frank M. ׳Church is director, proved more than usually interesting. The program might be termed international, for the composers represented the United States, Poland, Germany, Austria, Italy, Denmark, England, Holland and Russia, while the performers were not only native Texans, but also the ranks were swelled by Aurora Lee Hargrove, of Shanghai, China, and Edith Deter, of San Paula, Brazil. Others who participated were Louise Thulemeyer, Gladys House, Clara Belle Maddox, Mary H. Heath, Sylvan Ginsberg, Willie Mae Abbott, Fay Brannon, Mrs. S. W. Cowles.
Another interesting concert of the month was the faculty recital given at the First Baptist Church, January 9, by Agnes Myrtle Thompson, reader; Will Payne, baritone, and Frank M. Church, organist. Compositions by Wagner, Dubois, A. B. Plant, Saint-Saëns, Sidney Homer, Wolsten-holme and Rossini were performed.
At the last students’ recital, the program was presented by Fay Brannon, Mary Stephenson, John Boggs, Mrs. S. W. Cowles, Marion Hopkins, Grace Seale, Louise Thulemeyer, Hattie Conaway, Arthur Lee, Donnie Ferguson, Louise Heim, Blonda Weatherby, Trixie Mullen, Aurora Lee Hargrove, Christine Donaho, Mary Edna Shaw, Mary Louise Corr, Olga Kemendo, and the Baylor Symphony Orchestra of which Mr. Ciarlo is director.
Waterbury, Conn., January 16, 1922. — Anna Case, soprano, and Mildred Dilling, harpist, gave the third concert of the Prentzel subscription series at Buckingham Hall on January 10, there being a very large audience. Two of Miss Case’s own songs were included in the program.
Two Waterbury singers—George F. Burwell, tenor, and Cora Yager Foster, contralto, of the choir of the First Church—were soloists at the rendition of Handel’s oratorio, “The Messiah,” by the St. Cecilia and MacDowell choirs of Springfield, Mass., on the afternoon of Christmas Day at the auditorium in that city.
Wilbur H. Allen, baritone; Carl Struth, tenor, and Florence Suder, violinist, were soloists at the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of Townsend Lodge, No. 89, I. O. O. F., in Buckingham Hall on the night of January 2. Scotch songs were sung by Capt. William Walker and by Herbert A. Clark of New York.
A musical service, “The Service of Lights,” was given in Trinity Church on January 8, by the vested choir of the church, a number of the traditional Christmas carols being sung.
A women’s chorus has been formed in Naomi Chapter No. 23, O. E. S., under the direction of Pearl L. Fulton. Mrs. Fulton has composed music for the ritual work of the Order of the Eastern Star, which is of unusual merit and is being sung in many chapters throughout the state.
Wichita, Kan., January 14, 1922.—A new musical club, the Musical Art Society of Wichita, has been launched successfully, A broad constitution and not too drastic set of by-laws have placed it in the class to appeal to all musicians, business people, teachers and music lovers. Otto L. Fischer was elected president; Harry Evans, vice president; Ethelyn Bowman, secretary and treasurer; a board of directors representative of the various music branches, including music trades, backs the organization’s policy. Dues are five dollars per year, and over one hundred and fifty members have enrolled. Monthly meetings are compulsory, except during the summer vacation season. The new club is an outgrowth, or reorganization of the old Musicians’ Club, which ceased to function two years ago. General civic matters and educational work by means of programs are its plans.
One of the prime incentives to organization of the Wichita music forces was the coming meeting of the State Music Teachers’ Association here, February 22 to 25. It was a deplorable fact that Wichita, the center musically of Kansas and the second largest city in the state, had no broad music organization enrolling all musicians. It is true, there are the regular music clubs, but they were not a general organization. They have been doing fine work in certain channels, but so many problems are now confronting the Wichita musicians and music lovers that the new society is expected to help definitely to solve some of these.
The Municipal Band, the Municipal chorus and the Wichita Symphony Orchestra have all had a precarious existence. The band and chorus have lost the city financial support. The city has retrenched in its budget and general music suffers. The symphony orchestra is now making another active campaign to raise the necessary finances by private subscription, and it looks as though the plan would go through. The city ordinances have been an obstacle for years. It is planned to read a new ordinance into the city’s laws. This move will be backed by the new society. The orchestra and band will be supported in some way, and by working out plans in cooperation with other civic bodies the new organization is expecting to accomplish some real results.
The State Music Teachers’ meeting here in February will bring music teachers from all over Kansas, and the programs are now being worked out.
The municipal course has overshadowed and practically made impossible any other managerial effort, owing to the
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