Omaha daily bee., 1896-11-22
May Irwin and John C. Rice in 1.-THE
Widow Jones' will be a Creighton attrac-
tion in the near future.
S1uyz.iizz, III L8ui2z
MUSIC.

III i8i ij ri 81 III III ri 81 ri II
The question of an orchestra in Omaha
is Just now prominently before the public.
and it is fitting that it be given most care
full and deliberate considerations Three
things are necessities to being a capable
orchestral musician; musical Temperament
technical Skill and ensemble routine. The
first must be born in him: the second he
acquires by lessons and individual practice: /:
the last comes only with experience as a
player with other players in an orchestra
Technical skill cannot take the place of
this experience An orchestral player must
be familiar with the kind of music he is to
play, Such school as the ordinary theater
orchestra does not fit musician for playing
Beethoven or Wagner With their music
before him he is stranger in strange
land, and no matter how devoutly he NAV
reverence their great names, he cannot be
an Instrument for the expression of their
ideas and feelings. Their language Is a
dead one to him, for he has replaced 1t with
the dialect OF the lower classes OF musical
composers To expect him to correct his
grammer and rhetoric in two or three re-
hearsals is to invite sure disappointment.
Musicians are not made by any other pro-
cess than that OF slow growth.
The player who earns his living In the
theater and ballroom finds It difficult to
follow a conductor. He is accustomed to
being led By his ear, rather than by his
eye. He listens to the theater leader and
plays as he plays, and when he suddenly
finds himself face TO face with a strange
composition, and nothing to guide him but
a stick waving tc and fro In the air he is
not himself; he cannot do himself justice
lie Is out OF his element and ne loses con-
hdence; he begins to feel his way, and goes
from bad to worse. When he has counted
MS fifteen bars rest he hesltates to play
hoping to catch some sound which shall tell
MN that he Is right A musician without
confidence In himself is as bad off as ship
without propeller.
Successful orchestral playing can come
only from experience, and under the condi-
tiohs which exist in this city at the present
Time that experience can be gained only In
rehearsal. one OF the greatest obstacles
W ,he musicians success Is that one of the
customs or his engagement Is that he asks
certain amount for the concert performances
ana certain alter amount for each re-
heasal: The person giving the concert feels
competed, as matter of economy. to get
along with the fewest possible rehearsais, and
as consequence. the performance suffers.
II musicians could be engaged for a GER
tain amount for the performance. and with
the Understanding that all the rehearsals-
be they few or many--necessary to a salts
factory performance could be held without
extra cost-the performance itself would be
s'J 'HiP'p'eul Ane puDllc would DC
pleased, and the demand for the musicians
services would be increased. In the long
run ne would be the one most benefited for
lie would not only get more work to do.
but, as his skill increased, he would be
the more ready to perform his part In a
worthy manner and with fewer rehearsaIs.
The Musical society had three orchestra
rehearsais TO prepare the eleven numbers
for Its recent concert In which the orchestra
had part Al no one OF these rehearsals
we're all the nlayers present. and two OF