The age-herald., 1900-11-18

Oscar Ehrgott, the distinguished baritone of Cincinnati, whose rich voice has been heard frequently in Birmingham, will visit this city again before great while, but probably not until after the New Year.
 The next song service at the First Meth odist church will take place the Sunday be- fore Christmas, and the great numbers on the programme will consist of choruses and solos from the Messiah" Nearly the en- tire oratorio will be sung, a portion of 1t at the regular morning service and larger portion at the song service proper at night. Mr. Guckenberger will soon begin to con- duct Messiah" rehearsals, and he hopes to give even a smoother performance of Han- des masterwork than on any former occa- sion. This will be the fifth season Birming- ham will have heard the Messiah" under Guckenberger's leadership.
 At one of the song services after Christ mas MT. Guckenberger will give the splen- did cantata, Main" by Homer Norris, Walter Drennen's theory teacher
 Nearly every large city in the United States is coming to have its own endowed symphony orchestra Boston led off years ago with Colonel Higginson as the financial packer of what is now one of four or five of the grand symphony bands of the world. William Gericke is the present conductor. Chicago followed Boston seven or eight years ago. and the orchestra conducted by Theodore Thomas Is not only literally en- dowed but 1t is second to none in Europe or America. Buffalo, Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Kansas City and St. Louis have good or chestras endowed more or less literally. Those of Buffalo, Pittsburg and Cincinnati include many high-grade artists, and each of them Is conducted by musician of wide reputation.
 The last city to fall into line Is Washing ton MT. Santelmann, director of the United States Marine Band. has organized sym phony orchestra, and has announced se- ries of eight or nine concerts for this win ter First-elass symphony orchestras are expensive luxures, but Washington is a wealthy community with more than the usual degree of culture, and Santelmann's efforts will doubtless be sustained
 Music as a fine art has long had firm hold on the cultured classes of Europe, as every one knows, and it is steadily advanc- ing In this country. But America will not take rank as a musical nation until mu- sical education becomes part of general education, as is the case in Germany Chill dren must not simply take lessons" They must be thoroughly grounded in the prin- cples of music; and as they mature, they must acquire a broad knowledge of theory The encouraging part about 1t is that the best teachers in every city are now laying as much stress upon theory as upon tech- nic As an example, H. T. Staats, director of the music school of the Pollock-Stephens Institute, requires all of his piano pupils to practice ensemble playing and sight reading and to study music scientifically. It is the only true way.
 MT Staats, by the way, is a musician who has enjoyed exceptionally fine advan- tages He distinguished himself at the Royal Conservatory, Leipsic, was after wards connected with the most-famous col leges of music in New York, and in 1895 founded the Staats Piano School, of which Dr. William Mason acted as one of the ex- eminers. In a testimonial Dr. Mason said: 'Tt has never been difficult matter to ex-