The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-03-10
THE VARSITY CONCERT

Fun, music and college spirit all ran
rlot Friday night at the Lyceum, the oc-
casion being the annual concert of the
University Glee and Mandolin club. The
boxes and loges were nearly: all filled
and the parquet circle and balcony were
all filled with "U'' men and maids, with a
liberal sprinkling Of their friends includ-
ing few gray-heads who like to renew
the old days occasionally by listening to
the same old songs and participating in
the same old joyous spirits. > .,~@,
The numbers were about evenly di-
v1ded between the two portions of the
club, and it would be difficult to deter
mine which scored the greater success.
II the singers received more recalls, it
is probably true that the players showed
better training. The program was ar
ranged Subject to change and was
sung with fine disregard Of the printed
page, but in strict keeping with the
change legend at its close. Set num-
bers were sung as encores or omitted al
together without remark or explanation
and no one seemed to mind. The Moth
er Goose Medley for instance, gave way
to plaintive ditty about certain Han
nah who slipped on banana, and a gem
tleman who missed her came to assist her,
and Mother Goose withNher train of celeb
rites was compelled to do duty as an
encore. ,--.-,.
Part second was to have comm enced
with "Boatswain Bold" solo by Walter
NJ. Brown assisted by the glee club but
instead the curtain arose on a typical
student room scene. and the clnb lounging
around in various easy attitudes with
Percy Saunders as soloist assured the
audience that every mothers son Of them
was ''jolly good fellow" and that they
We're all devoted to 'the pipe and the
bowl" So well did they do it that an
encore was imoeratively demanded and
acceded tc, AFTER which. for second en-
core, the club gave a very ludicrous num-
Der Daraphrased on that old fayorite,
after the Ball. -. h.-. r.. ,.
The Mulligan Musketeers did not
appear on dress parade as advertised, but
instead the club sang a number Of verses
descriptive OF student life which were
filled with local gags" that were greatly
appreciated and imnnoderately laughed
over. Toward the close of the program
Walter NJ. Brown, baritone, sang num-
Der of solos with glee enlb accon1pani-
ment which were very taking. Mr.. Brown
Las phenomenal range and volume. His
voice is Of fine quality but although he
sang we'll last might he is capable Of do
ing much better work and should sing
with more abandon. The glee club as a
whole sang we'll. The tenors seemed a
little light for the lower voices and there
was too marked a tendency toward plan
issimo effects. At times a fuller volume
of sound would have given better results.
The mandolin club played under the di-
rection of Francis H. Robertson, who, al
though he is undoubtedly fine mandolin
ist, has certainly accomplished excellent
results as leader. The club played
with splendid style and finish and Mr..
Robertson's readings of the various Sc
lections from Sousa's "Stars and Stripes,
Forever" to the Sancho "Passionana =
We're intelligent and very interesting.
Encores were frequent and insistent and
the club was most liberal in its respond
ing to such demands. so much so in fact
that the program stretched almost beyond
the patience OF ehaperones and duennas.
The two soloists of the evening were
M. Cragg Walston, violinist, who al
though not on the program, was most
welcome addition and who played with
fine effect Mr.. Robertson played on
the mandolin, Gounod's Faust waltz,
responding to recall with the 'sInter-
mezzo" by Mascagni. Both were well re-
ceived. Carlyle Scott acted as accom-
PIANIST very acceptably.
The university colors decorated the
boxes and stage, and the set scene was
enlivened in color by banners and
streamers from Grinnell, Wisconsin and
Nebraska, fencing foils and masks, tennis
1.acquets, golf sticks, Gibson girls, and
the usual lares and penates of the coll
lege youth. -Boardman.