The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1897-01-28
TO BE 1000 VOICES.
In a Big Chorus at the Fall
Festival.
The Ottawa Musical Jubilee In
June Next.
Will be Preliminary to the Musical
Event in Topeka in the Fall
Festival Week

Prof. S. F. Cravens of Kansas, and
at present of Ottawa, is organizing
musical festival to be given at Ottawa
in June. He has been in Topeka or
ganiZing a festival chorus which is to
be composed of 300 voices. Altogether
the Ottawa chorus will be composed of
many other hundreds of singers from
various parts of the state. The most
interesting part of this to Topeka, how
ever, is that while this big chorus will
sing at Ottawa during the Chautauqua,
it will also sing at Topeka in Fall Fes-
tival week if arrangements can be
made for it.
Prof. Cravens spent two evenings
organizing the singers here. He gave
two drills on the oratorio Creation"
The Topeka chorus had membership
of so the first night and 80 the second.
The committee is endeavOring to in
crease the membership to 800 voices at
once, and in a city of 80 600 people this
gave Handlers Messiah" Mendels-
sohn's Elijah" and numerous other
sacred works in Topeka several years
ago, and they were all we'll performed
and were received with much enthusi-
asm.
This year the Chautauqua assembly
and the business men of Ottawa are
backing him with a guaranty, and he is
planning to have choruses at the as
sembly in June from Newton, Emporia,
Usage, Topeka, Lawrence, Ottawa,
Garrett and Kansas City.
These choruses will give the creation
in their own town first and then go to
Ottawa and sing as a combined cho-
rus with soloists from abroad. The
names of these soloists are not yet
known, but negotiations are already
pending with Nordica, Mackeridge and
others. Prof. Cravens donates his time
and expenses, trusting to the local per-
ment. This is the first time the singers
of Topeka have been given chance to
study this great OratoriO, and the COM
mittee feel that the singers should turn
out and help make the Festival chorus
a great success.
In 1898 the Topeka chorus, with a
very little effort, captured the grand
prize at the Hutchinson jubileeA check
for $500 viii be captured at Ottawa as
sembly by the chorus giving the best
rendition of three selected choruses I'M
der its own director.
Some day Gt may be this year, To-
pelxa may have an auditorium" said
Mr.. H. V. Hinckley, who is at the head
of the Festival chorus in Topeka. Then
look out for a larger musical jubilee at
Topeka than the west has ever seen.
But Topeka must show herself to be
interested in music, if she wants the
neighboring towns to do likewise, when
she invites them here
The Nodocs and the Washburn COL
1ege glee club have signified their in
tention of joining the chorus, and these,
with the large number of chorus sing
ers in Topeka, will make a fine COM
pany.
The Amphion club has for the present
ceased active practice, and this new
chorus will take the place of it to a
certain extent, except that many more
singers will be admitted
Mr.. Hinckley and Mr.. II. L. Shirer
are arranging the details. The meeting
night is TUESDAYS The chorus is now
so large that it has been found neces-
sary to find larger quarters for rehear-
sails. The location will be announced