The sun., 1909-06-21
1000 CHILDREN IN CONCERT
prBLIC SCHOOL PUPILS SING
TO VISITING GERMANS.
scholars From, the Grammar and High,
schools In Rival Choruses With Fine
Eject Audience Joins I'm the Na-
tonaI Air while 5000 Flags Wave

tIonal Air while 5000 Flags Wave
The waving Of nearly Ave thousand
AMERICAN flags brought the second con-
aar, Of the saengerfest now on at the
Madison Square Garden to an enthu-
.i.stc close yesterday afternoon. The
sinrers from far and near had given their
saces to a chorus from the public schools
Of the city.
The statstician Of the occasion estl-
,rat,j that 1910 children. coming from
,,s schools, were sitting on the fan shaped
natforn at the end Of the hall. They
ieft no vacant places, but flowed over
into the boxes and selts OF one division
on each side of the Garden and filed
three tiers that rose above the benches
On which the majority Of the singers sat.
On the left side the pupils Of the ele-
m.ptary schools were gathered, while
on the right and considerably fewer, in
number we're the singers from the high
schools.
They were an interesting national
oomposte. There were blond Teutonio
faces. whose presence was appropriate
enough at such q gathering; swarthy,
races, and some Of the most enthusiastic
singers were negroes. When the sing
inc Of THE Star Spangled Banner had
ended the concert and the audience as
we'll as the chorus rose to its feet the
h,ndreds Of waving hags hid all these
racial differences In the appearance Of
the young singers. !
The school children were allowed to
appear with the permission Of the Board
of Education, and President Egerton
Winthrop, Jr.. was there in box to hear
them. So was Cornelius Ruebner. the
professor Of music at Columbia Uni
versity and one Of the prize judges Of
the saengerfest. although there was no
competition about yesterdays concert
except that every youthful caroller
seemed to be competing with his or her
fellows to do the best he or she could
The Importance Of the concert lay in
the fact that the German historians Of the
German singing society in this country
are Of the opinion that the American
instruction in our schools Is the result Of
this German example. There are other
views on this subject, but there was no
doubt as to the efficiency Of the instruc-
ton that the young singers are'receiving
and if it always gives them as much
pleasure to sing as it seemed to yester-
day afternoon everybody who heard
them will be glad they were taught.
The singers were all in their places be-
fore the audience arrived. sitting very still
and composed for so many young per-
sons and possibly the teacher stationed
with every division was not necessary.
Most of the younger girls wore white.
some in the high school division just to
show that they were enough grown up
10 do as they wanted came in mauve and
pink and were thus conspicuous among
those about them. But they all stuck to
business with equal seriousness whs n
Svendson's -kroenung's March," which
was played as an overture, had come TO
an end and Df. Frank R Rx,. conductor
Of the chorus of 5000 pupils Of the primary
schools, took Ms place at the desk. They
al! applauded him when he got there
and 50 did his friends in the audience.
He lifted his baton and the 5000 rose to
their feet~to sing the chorus BE Not
Afraid' from -F1ijah."
The earnestness Qf the young singers.
their fresh voices with the innate pathetic
treble quality, would have appealed
strongly 10 the audience had not the pre-
csion Of their attack and the distinctness
with which they enunciated the words
heen remarkable In such youthful singers
with such little preparation for their
tasks They sang an arrangement OF the
; l?3d Psalm in order TO quiet the applause
Of the audience, which showed an obvious
degree Of surprise that the chorusee should
have been SO we'll rendered.
The smaller chorus from the high
schools included nearly 1000, and It's
numbers seemed limited only in compare
son with the larger chorus Of youngsters.
The Heavens Proclaim by Beethoven,
and an unmusical distortion OF the Bach
Gounod Ave Maria" by Albert Tottman,
we're the two numbers which showed the
advanced singers. One was struck i'm
mediately with the deeper and more
mature note In these voices. which was
more pronounced than the slight difer.
ences in the ages OF the singers would
lead one to expect. They showed the
e1ceencies Of training under the leader
ship OF their instructor, Albert y Iasweii'
although It seem lamentable that their
time should have been devoted to such
task as this version Of the Bach
Gounod Ave Maria
The advanced classes did not let the
audience have the applause all to itself
They answered back by the waving OK
handkerchiefs that they were very CRATE
ful thank you, for the kind applause.
Then TO show their hearers how much
they appreciated IL they Joined in sing.
ing Die Lorelei" in German. and that
made no uncertain appeal to an audience
chiefly German in make up.
Possibly the emotional qualities in The
Lost Chord excuses its selection for
choral singing among the young and the1e
was evidence that 1t did reach the hearts
Of the primary chorus which sang 1t 40 well
that Home, Sweet Home followed and
met with the same warmth that groeeted
Die lorelei' and with it marked the high
tide Of artistic enthusiasm during the con-
cert.
I, was when Corinne Rider Kelsey came
T. the platform TO sing with Yerdure
,.1d' from The Creation that every
i',tle girl among the singers fSed her
eyes on her as IL 70 look forward to the
cay when she might come out as a prime
Gonna and sing In public. IL she sang
80 sTsetly and with 80 mucn gIa-
'"'sncss As Mrs. kelsey she might be
! rpud Of il, and the chorus called her baok
i'anv times TO let her see how great its
'r' rHcistion was. Then> Daniel beddoe
'fG Handel's Sound an Alarm. ana the
orh".tr, under the direction Of DR.. Felix
eger played the -Leonore overturr
Ao 3and Liszt's Grand CortAge' IL
fr6''on TO the American Fantesie OF
Nl.lor Herbert
..fition, "Das Publiktim wird gebeten
NJ n