In Calgary, N. W. T., a first performance in Canada took place of Coleridge-Taylor’s “Atonement,” which was given with chorus and orchestra, under the direction of Mr. J. S. Dennis. The musical people of the city have formed a Philharmonic Society.
An operatic concert was given, May 3d, by the Normal Choral Club, Potsdam, N. Y., under the direction of Miss Julia E. Crane. Madame Marie Rappold, soprano, and Mr. John Young, tenor, assisted.
Mr. Charles W. Landon will give courses in Methods of Teaching, Mason “Touch and Technic,” Phrasing and Expression, Artist’s Touches, and Musical Kindergarten, at his conservatory, Dallas, Texas, June 22d to July 9th.
A May music festival was given at Wolfville, N. S., May 10th and 11th, by the Acadia Choral Club, Mr. George Pratt Maxim, conductor. Three programs were presented: opera, popular, and oratorio.
The graduating recital of the piano and violin departments of the Rowe Conservatory, Ennis, Texas, took place May 12th.
The graduates’ recital of the School of Music of the Virginia Female Institute, Mr. F. R. Webb, director, was given May 6th.
The South Atlantic States Music Festival, tenth season, was held at Spartanburg, S. C., April 27th to 29th, under the auspices of the Converse College Choral Society, Dr. R. H. Peters, conductor. The Boston Festival Orchestra, Emile Mollenhauer, conductor, assisted. Miss Anita Rio, Miss Clara Sexton, sopranos; Madame Louise Homer, Miss Florence Mulford, contraltos; Mr. Jacques Bass, Mr. Holmes Cowper, tenors; Mr. de Gogorza, Mr. Gwilym Miles, baritones; Mr. Frederic Martin, bass; Mr. Silvio Risegari, solo pianist.
The annual faculty of the Western Conservatory of Music, Chicago, was given May 5th. Addresses were made by Pres. E. H. Scott, Mr. D. A. Clippinger, and other members of the faculty.
The Century Chorus Choir, of St. Louis, R. O. Bolt, director, was organized for the purpose of furnishing choir singing at the various conventions to be held in that city this year. The chorus numbers about 1000 singers from the various city churches.
The Marysville, Ohio, Choral Union, under the direction of Dr. O. H. Evans gave their third May music festival May 3d. At the afternoon concert a miscellaneous program was given by the Boston Festival Orchestra, Mr. Carl Webster, ‘cellist, and Miss Florence Mulford, contralto. At the evening concert Coleridge-Taylor’s cantata, “Hiawatha,” was sung. Miss Clara Sexton, soprano; Holmes Cowper, tenor; and Gwilym Miles, baritone, were the soloists.
We have received some interesting programs from the Brenau Conservatory, Otto Pfefferkorn, director, showing the work done at a series of weekly recitals.
Mr. Harry J. Zehm, director of music in Elizabeth College, gave an organ recital in St. John’s Lutheran Church, Salisbury, N. C., April 14th. He was assisted by local talent.
Maunder’s cantata, “Olivet to Calvary,” was given in the Moravian Church, Lancaster, Pa, April 1st, by the church choir, under the direction of Mr. William A. Wolfe, organist.
An 8-year-old pianist, Maurice Robb, has been brought out by Mrs. Oscar Mansfeldt, in San Francisco. A program recently given contained numbers by Beethoven, Grieg, Schubert, Chopin, Moszkowski, and Mendelssohn.
Mr. Frederic N. Shackley’s cantata, “A Song of Praise,” received its first Boston performance in the Church of the Ascension, April 14th. Mr. Shackley directed the work.
A “popular organ recital” was given in the Lake Avenue Baptist Church, Rochester, N. Y., March 21st, by Mr. George E. Fisher, assisted by Marvin E. Burr, baritone, and Ludwig Schenck, violinist. Mr. Fisher’s numbers were Concert Overture in C, Hollins; Fugue in B Minor, Bach; Scherzo, Rousseau; Albumblatt, Gurlitt; Idylle, Faulkes; Caprice, Seeboeck; Intermezzo, Hollins; A Royal Procession, Spinney.
A demonstration of the work done by the Dunning system of music study for beginners was given March 17th in Buffalo, by pupils of Mrs. Dunning.
Mr. David D. Wood, who has filled the position of organist in St. Stephen’s P. E. Church, Philadelphia, for forty years, was recently honored by the church authorities with a banquet at which a silver loving cup was presented to him. Mr. Wood, although blind from birth, is one of the finest organists in the country.
The Beta Chapter of the Sinfonia, organization of men music students, connected with the Broad Street Conservatory of Music, Philadelphia, gave a “Ladies’ Night,” May 11th. Dr. H. A. Clarke lectured on “Instruments of Music, Their Primitive Forms and Development.”
Mr. Wade R. Brown, of the Baptist Female University, Raleigh, N. C., has arranged for a summer school of music, July 1st to August 1st.
A program of Russian and Polish music was given at Allen-Freeman Studios, Scranton Y. M. C. A., by the Allen Quartet and other artists.
A summer class for teachers is being conducted at the National Conservatory of Music, New York City, by Rafael Joseffy. The eminent pianist and teacher gives talks, with illustrations at the piano. The class closes July 19th.
The Woman’s Amateur Chorus, of Aurora, Ill., Mrs. Emma S. Miller, director, gave a concert April 7th.
The Spring Music Festival of Columbia, Mo., was held in the Auditorium of Stephen’s College, April 11th and 12th. Messrs. T. Carl Whitmer and George Venable were the directors. The chorus numbered 110 voices. “Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast,” by Coleridge-Taylor, was the principal choral work.
The choir of the First Presbyterian Church, Butte, Mont., gave Maunder’s cantata, “From Olivet to Calvary,” April 3d. Mr. E. C. Hall is organist and choirmaster.
At the concert of the Mendelssohn Trio, of Pittsburgh, April 12th, Mr. Ad. M. Foerster’s Trio, Op. 29, was played.
Mr. Albert J. Wilkins, of Bridgeport, Conn., an occasional contributor to The Etude, and a successful singer, teacher, and conductor, died March 8th, aged 56.
Mr. Gustav L. Becker, of New York City, brought out one of his advanced pupils at a recital given at his home, April 2d. Miss Zoe Cheshire, harpist, assisted.
The teachers of the Whitman College Conservatory of Music, Walla Walla, Wash., are kept busy with recital work. The director, Mr. S. Harrison Lovewell, has something to offer the students every few weeks.
At the First Presbyterian Church, Clarkesburg, W. Va., Mr. D. Gilbert Johns gave his Easter overture, “Christ, the Risen King,” April 6th.
