27
MUSICAL COURIER
June 7, 1923
GRADUATING CLASS OF THE GUILMANT ORGAN SCHOOL. (DR. CARL IS IN THE CENTER.)
© Underwood, & Underwood.
GUILMANT ORGAN SCHOOL COMPLETES TWENTY-FOURTH YEAR
Gold Medal Presented by Dr. Carl to Carolyn M. Cramp
ness in her tones. Her aria from Herodiade showed fine technical appreciation and Durante’s dainty Danza, Danza, Fanciulla was delightful. Kramer’s Last Hour was given with much feeling, and Scott’s The Wind’s in the South was perhaps the most popular of her numbers. Mrs. Gaw-ler, who suffered from a slight cold, was a little husky in her aria, the waltz song from Romeo and Juliet, but her group of three songs, Wind and Lyre (Rogers), The Message of the Rose (Lovette) and Robin, Robin, Sing Me a Song (Spross), was most enjoyable and showed a warmth of tone as well as a fine range.”	J. B.
Mr. and Mrs. Huss Booked for White House
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Holden Huss have been engaged to give a piano and song recital at the White House for President and Mrs. Harding next season. The President desires a predominantly American program. Mr. and Mrs. Huss’ first recital at the White House was in 1904, this also marking their first joint recital. Mrs. Huss was then Hildegard Hoffmann, and both she and Mr. Huss received a signed photo of President and Mrs. Roosevelt which they naturally prize among their most cherished mementoes.
Mr. and Mrs. Huss will as usual hold their summer class for advanced piano and vocal students at their lovely studio on the mountainside at Diamond Point, Lake George, N. Y., beginning July 16 and continuing for five weeks. They will give special concerts in the studio this summer.
Enoch & Son Moves Up Town
Soon after A. V. Broadhurst arrived in the United States he made arrangements for new offices uptown. The company therefore moved from the old address at 56 East Thirty-fourth street, to the new offices at 9 East Forty-fifth street, just a few doors from Fifth avenue and Forty-fifth street.
The New York office of Enoch & Son, the English and French publishing house, has long since outgrown its former quarters, and it was particularly urgent at this time that larger premises be taken in view of the fact that this well known concern has taken over the Peter’s Edition. Even though the new catalogue which Mr. Broadhurst has prepared with great care is not yet from the printers, the orders are coming from all parts of the country for this standard edition.
Metropolitan Artists for Delaware, Ohio
The Metropolitan Musical Bureau closed a course at the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio, for next season as follows: Carolina Lazzari, contralto; Francis Mac-millen, violinist; Louis Graveure, baritone, and Harold Bauer, pianist.
LAWRENCE CLIFFORD GIRSON
TENOR
402 KISJA.BE BUILDING, NEW YORK
he called on the Guilmant Organ School and was recommended a man whose splendid work was the best recommendation for the thoroughness of this school’s teaching. It may be added, though Dr. Noble did not mention this in his address, that even first-year students of Dr. Carl’s school are required to play hymn tunes at sight, and required also to harmonize at sight, at the organ, a melody and a bass. In other words, Dr. Carl realizes that most churches need a practical player of hymns and other music used in congregational singing, as well as an organ virtuoso, for which reason he develops both equally and makes real musicians of his pupils as well as skilled technicians.
The diplomas were presented to the graduating class by the Rev. Dr. George Alexander, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church. Afterwards Dr. Carl told the writer that he had forgotten to announce that the Berolzheimer Scholarships would be continued, but wanted the fact made public, which it is a pleasure to do.
In closing, it may be of interest to mention that the list of Alumni of the Guilmant Organ School, printed on the back of the program, shows that there have been 146 graduates, seventy-nine girls and sixty-seven men, not including those of this year—a great record for twenty-four years.
Lovette Pupils in Fine Concert
Washington, D. C., May 28.—Commenting in the Washington Evening Star on the recent appearance of several Lovette students, Helen Fetter, the music critic, says: “A remarkable recital among those presented in Washington music circles during the season was that given last Thursday night before a large crowd at the Washington Club auditorium, when T. S. Lovette, pianist, and Eva Whit-ford Lovette, vocalist, presented Mary Ruth Matthews, Edythe Crowder, Gladys Hillyer, Lorena Stockton Gawler and Zelma E. Brown in the final program to be offered under their auspices this year. Miss Matthews, Miss Hillyer and Miss Brown are all pianists of unusual ability and displayed thorough understanding of the technic of the piano. Miss Matthews played the difficult Grieg sonata in E minor, first and fourth movements, in a manner that brought out vividly all the subleties of the rugged Norwegian music. Her playing of the Liszt rhapsodie No. 15 was equally interesting in its technical brilliancy and employment of contrast. Miss Hillyer played the Saint-Saëns Etude en Forme de Valse with dexterity and evident knowledge of tonal values. She also gave Beethoven’s Sonata Pastorale movement an interesting interpretation and played a group of Chopin’s preludes with fine contrast. Miss Brown appeared to fine advantage in her rendition of Symphonic Etudes by Schumann and the Tarantelle by Moszkowski. Both Miss Matthews and Miss Brown proved sympathetic accompanists as well as fine solo artists.
“Miss Crowder has a voice with large soprano range. Her notes are very clear cut. She sang without any rough-
In honor of the Silver Jubilee anniversary of Greater New York, the Guilmant Organ School, under the direction of Dr. William C. Carl, arranged this season’s commencement exercises to coincide with the city’s Jubilee festivities. The commencement exercises were carried out with much glamour before a large audience at the First Presbyterian Church on the evening of May 28, and never did the school make a better showing, which is saying much, for the annual exercises of this excellent seat of learning serve always to demonstrate the marked efficiency of Dr. Carl and his staff.
There were seven graduates and one post-graduate, all of whom were heard in difficult numbers from the great organ composers, whose compositions are well calculated to expose any weakness in the student’s technical equipment, which, in this case, as invariable with the Guilmant School pupils, was notable by its absence. The entire program was an exhibition of proficiency, often reaching real virtuosity, and was executed with a smoothness and precision leaving nothing to be desired. No better proof of that fact could perhaps be found than that this critic, at the end of a long and arduous winter of concerts, sat back in his pew and enjoyed ■every minute of the evening, absorbing the beauties of the music, rendered with fine expression, phrasing, musicianship, taste, and, most of all, rhythmic precision, too often lacking in the organ recitals, even of the masters.
The program was as follows: Processional—Marche de la Symphonie Ariane (Alexandre Guilmant), George William Volkel; Toccata and Fugue in D minor (Bach), Lillian M. Grange; Andante Cantabile, fourth symphony (Widor), Vivian Calista Fell; Piece Heroique (Cesar Franck), Margaret MacLaren; Fantasietta avec Variations (Dubois), John Blockhaus; Finale from D minor Symphony (Alexandre Guilmant), Doris C. Eber; Introduction and Allegro from first symphony (Alexandre Guilmant), Francis X. M. Attanasio; Theme, Variation and Finale in A flat (Louis Thiele), Carolyn M. Cramp; Rhapsodie Cata-lane (Joseph Bonnet) with pedal cadenza, Ralph Arthur Harris. Charles Hart, tenor, sang an aria from Massenet’s Cid with great beauty of tone and fine emotion. The whole constituted a most excellent and interesting program, well selected and beautifully rendered.
At the end of the program, Dr. Carl was introduced and made several announcements: first of all that the Hon. Philip Berolzheimer, City Chamberlain, sent his regrets, being unable to attetid this recital owing to duties connected with the Jubilee; then, that Dr. Humphrey J. Stewart, of San Diego, recipient of a gold medal presented by the school two years ago, wired his heartiest congratulations and best wishes.
Dr. Eugene A. Noble, director of the Juilliard Foundation, then took the floor for the presentation of the William C. Carl gold medal, the fund for which was presented to the Guilmant Organ School by the Hon. Philip Berolzheimer, honorary president of the Alumni Association. The winner this year was Carolyn M. Cramp, of the 1923 graduating class. Honorable mentions were won by Lillian M. Grange, Doris C. Eber and Francis X. M. Attanasio.
In his short presentation address, Dr. Noble told a story that is so much to the point that it is worth repeating. He said that some years ago, when he was at the head of a college, he engaged an organist who had just graduated from an organ school. When the organist arrived he was called upon to play at sight before the assembled student body the college* song«». To his amazement, says Dr. Noble, the newly engaged organist said he was unable to read the music at sight. He was excused and the song was accompanied by two students at the piano. Afterwards Dr. Noble told the organist he was evidently unsuited to the position and asked him how he had graduated from the organ school. He said his graduation examination consisted only of playing a certain number of difficult organ numbers.
Dr. Noble then went on to say that, in this emergency,
SUMMER MASTER COURSES
for teachers and students of singing personally conducted by Dr. P. Mario Marafioti author of
Caruso’s Method of Voice Production
For particulars and booklet on Natural Singing write to Miss B. Friede, secretary of the
MARAFIOTI VOICE CULTURE INSTITUTE
The Wyoming, 7th Ave. and 55th St., New York City	Circle 3242