The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1907-04-08
GREAT SYMPHONY
ORCHESTRA
MANAGER
o. B. Babcock in City Sunday
Tells of Premier Must
cal Organization.

Among the guests at the Hotel Da-
cotah yesterday was o. B. Babcock,
business manger of the Minneapolis
symphony orchestra. Mr.. Babcock
was here for the purpose of having
talk with the officers of the Oratorio
society of this city relative to the
bringing to Grand Forks at the time
Of the May Music festival, the great
Minneapolis musical organization. Mr..
Babcock came in from Winnipeg,
where he partially closed contracts
for an appearance in that city, some
time during May, either Immediately
before or after the festival in Grand
Forks
Minneapolis has just closed the most
brilliant musical season in its his
tory" said Mr.. Babcock to a press
representative. 1--WE have had sue
cession o. interesting musical events
OF such quality and frequency that
music lovers have often had to choose
between two or more equally desira-
BILE concerts that occurred on the same
evening. The Minneapolis symphony
orchestra has given series of con-
certs SO remarkably successful as to
have placed it among the very few
orchestras in the country to be classed
as the most successful Our audito-
rum in Minneapolis, where the SYM
phony concerts are given, seats near
ly 5000 people, and the symphony or
cestra has filled it to capacity twenty
times during the season.
Guarantee of $4,000.
The orchestra was never in such
splendid form as at present. 1t has
played SO many programs during the
past winter that every member in its
repertoire, large though it is, had been
brought up into perfect shape, and
with its many rehearsals and concerts
has come a perfect mutual UNDER
standing, composite, blended tone
and unity of purpose that make it like
ono great instrument.
You may think ME an enthusia st."
said Mr.. Babcock, land l will confess
that am. Minneapolis is justly proud
of its symphony orchestra and of Emil
Oberhofer, its conductor, who has de-
veloped 1t to its present point. and of
the splendid season just closed. As
an example OF Minneapolis enthusi-
asm, l might cite the experience of the
board OF directors last summer when
it was raising the present guarantee
fund. This fund had always been $1O,-
900 year, but last year the board de-
cfded that the time had come to in
crease the size and improve the quail
ty of the orchestra, and so started out
to raise fund of $4,000. Instead of
meeting with any difficulties, they
raised from willing subscribers an an
nual fund OF 100000 for three years,
making a total guarantee OF 100000.
This enabled them to carry out their
plans without trouble, and the result
has been an orchestra that has given
series OF musical entertainments
never equaled by any other city west
OF Chicago.
Great Artists.
Many OF the worlds greatest mu-
steal artists have appeared with the
Minneapolis orchestra, and every one
has expressed the highest praise of its
quality and tho ability and talent of
its conductor, Mr.. Oberhoffer. Among
the artists who have appeared as SOLO
lists may be mentioned Sembrich, Cad
ski, Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler, Com
panari. Burgstaller, de Pachmann,
Emil Sauret and Hugo Hermann.
Popular afternoon concerts by the
orchestra were started this season, in
addition to the regular evening con-
certs. They were at first given every
two weeks, but so many people were
turned away. unable to secure seats,
that they were given weekly. Even
with concerts every week seats could
not be found for all who wanted to at
tend. and at tho final popular concert
of the season over 1000 people were
turned away, enough to have filled
hall third as large again as the big
auditorium
Minneapolis Proud.
This indicates something beside a
fad, or "a squirt OF patriotism inspired
by home organization. 1t shows
what the quality OF the orchestra must
be and what fine programs and ade-
quate Interpretation have marked it's
concerts. Only few cities in the
United States support symphony or
chestra at all, and it is certainly JUS
tif1able pride that Minneapolis should
so far exceed many OF her larger and
older sister cities OF the east in the
matter OF such source OF culture and
artistic beauty as symphony orches-
ira"