The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-04-26

AAte california trip OF the cnOlr Is
over, and with this rapidly moving
community is already classed as an
Gent history; but the choir members,
their many friends, and those VINO de-
sire to preserve record of the notable
tour as a prominent event in our mus
ical history, viii be interested in this
brief summary, and the eloquent notice
from the Sacramento Record-Union
(which follows.
The tour had its birth in the mind Of
that interchangeable genius, Evan Steph-
ems, who had visited California several
rimes, and who often said he would
never feel satisfied until his young
singers-those whom he had brought
up from their musical kindergarten
days and watched over until he landed
them as full fiedged members of the
choir-had had the opportunity he had
enjoyed of seeing the land of flowers.
5he amateur chorus was therefore or
panied from the younger members of
the choir, and an entrance made for
the Eisteddfod prize, with the idea that
If they Were successful the prize money
should serve as the nucleus Of the
California tour fund: how well they
succeeded in the contest is we'll known
and how the $500 fund was multiplied
by eight Or ten by the subsequent la
bors Of the energetic body and its
leader, is also q matter of history What
is not SO well known, and what never
would Ice known if it depended on Mr.
stephens TO divuige it, is that when all
THE money was Jumped together, and
the final inventory taken it was found
That the fund was still 50 600 to So 500
short of the necessary amount to make
the trip and land the singers back
home again OF course everyone expect
ed that the eight concerts would sup
ply the deficiency, but who was there
ITO guarantee it? Banks would not is
sue letters of credit on their San Fran
cisco correspondents on expectations"
no matter how rosy hued they might
he, and the choir might still be cogi-
Rating over this problem had not Mr..
Stephens stepped to the front. signed
the guarantee, and taken the chances
on his individual shoulders. No great
chance, some one might say, but had
that some one been present at the
opening concert in san Francisco and
seen the sickly feeling about the box
office when the count was made up,
he would have thought the chance had
developed into rather Il decided GER
dainty, and that Mr.. Stephens was lin
for it, to the full amount of his guar
antee. But fortunately the choir made
a hit; business took a jump, and the
financial problem was solved even be-
fore the triumphant last night, when
the business management had the mel
ancholy pleasure of turning many APP
plicants for seats away from the doors.
Armed with a letter of credit then,
from the State bank to Wells Fargo &
Co, for the sum of $1,000, and with a
roll of bank notes on hand, large
enough to furnish the provender Of the
company en- route, the excursion start
ed off in seven Pullman coaches at s
O'Clock on the morning of Monday,
April 13. via the Rio Grande Western.
In all there were on board 277 souls
PCS adults. eight children and Charley
johnson The dreary ride over the Ne
vada desert. and the ecStacies that sue
ceeded when we plunged into the green
groves and grassy slopes on the other
side of the SierraS, have all been writ
ten of before. The party took its own
lunches from home the first day out,
and meal number one provided by the
company was partaken of at Sacrament
10 in several restau. ants and hotels
ait noon ON Tuesday; this was chiefly
valuable as serving to warn the com
7oany which places to fight shy of on
The return trip. At o'clock we rolled
into that beautiful city of homes,
Oakland, population 10000, largely
made up of San Francisco business
men and their families. Here the
opening. concert was held in a beautiful
edifice, the Congregational church.
Result. a brilliant and distinguished
audience, enthusiasm of the highest
sort but room for as many more as
were in the auditorium. One point
that distinguished the Oakland audi
ence from every other which the choir
sang before on its tour, was its rising
TO its feet during the rendition of the
~Hallelujah Chorus" This custom is
always followed in England and at
some musical centers in America. 1t
indicates the culture of an audience
most markedly and is a tribute to the
1nost majestic piece OF sacred choral
music ever Written-one that has been
so regarded for more than a hundred
years. Salt Lake audiences, by the
way. ought not to lose the lesson fur
nished by the Caklanders.
After the concert hundred or more
of the party took the ferry boat for
san Francisco and enjoyed the spec
= aecIe-one Of the rarest a California
srip affords-of the great Illuminated
CITY approached from the water at
might. The others rested their weary
limbs on their Pullman couches, cross
gnr over to the city the next morning,
the train being ferried over later ana
resting at the Townsend street depot,
rvhere those who did not go to the
fsTand hotel sought it after each
1ight's concert. Wednesday, Thurs
dav. Friday. Saturday and Sunday
mere passed in San Francisco-the
davs in the rraddest sort of sight
seeing race; the nights in the hardest
sort of singing. How they managed
10 hold up their heads at all, is to this
oay a marvel. Gdr. Stephens saw with
much concern that his singers were
wearing themselves out but how 10
r,reyenT it he knew not. He said he
could see from night to night that
they were running down. Luckily,
ahis was only evident TO his discerning
ave for the enthusiasm of the au-
F5iences in San Francisco grew nightly.
Ts,It If did grow evident to all by the
fine the last concert was given, that
IN Sacramento. The boys of the Har-
1nony Glee club-whos by the way,
ryere one Of the especial hits in every
nrogra nne-never failed to obtain an
encore and sometimes q double en-
core. IN Sacramento they were below
( Their standard, and though the au
rIience would have recalled them, Mr..
Stephens wisely responded with
chorus. your climate is better than
mrs" he said to the audience, "only
we are not used to it." That was let
ting the boys down easy-or some of
Them. They had simply worn them
selves out sightseeing.
- The event of tie San Francisco
series was. of course, the Sunday
morning religious service, where the
rnoir sang free of charge, and the sa-
r,-ad 1..,,car-f at night for which prices