The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-12-29
An Appreciation of Wonderful Child Pianst
 Who IS Just on the Threshold Of Her Teens
By DOLLY DALRympLE


 best musicians once said of Mrs. Flournoy Rivers:
 Her influence with children--her sweet womanly, beautiful influence-is as trul, wonderful as the masterful manner ir which she imparts to the student, hel splendid knowledge of music" What greater compliment could be palc this gifted woman?
 Mrs. Rivers, with her clean cut intel | lect, her broad education, and her excel lent musicanship occupies place ir Birmingham that few women have ever achieved-a place unique in it's way-be- cause there are few feminine minds which have been clothed with the remarkable power of seeing things as they are-oi grasping big situations, and handling them in the wonderful way she does-and her talent and her ability are at once the theme of admiration among all those whose names are numbered on her ;:st of friends-and they are legion,
 Mrs. Rivers has great faculty of find ing children who are talented and with whom she works wonders s In fact, Mrs. Rivers has contributed as
 
 musical work to this community as any other individual in this whole city. and the musical world owes her a debt of gratitude for the part she has played in raising the standard to a high level and amply maintaining her ideals.
 I always love to visit Mrs. Rivers studio-because I'm sure of finding some delightful surprise in store, and I always leave with the pleasant impression that I've learned something from this clever woman.
 The whole world loves children-alI the more where they are talented and attrac- tice, and must confess my interest in tn echildish innocence and sweetness of these aspiring geniuses.
 A few days ago when dropped in for a moment to see Mrs. Rivers, l found two children who are simply phenomenal.
 One of them-little 13-year-old Tot" Wilson. wasn't a stranger to ire, because I had heard this child play and I knew of the splendid work she has been doing for the past few years under Mrs. Rivers instruction.
 The other-little Beverly Hester-just IS was a brand new acquaintance, who turned out to be one of the most inter- esting I had made in many moons.
 Both of these children are ''out-of- town" pupils of Mrs. Rivers-one little Miss Wilson belonging to Tennessee while the other, little Miss Hester. comes from Clanton. Twice a week she makes the trip to Birmingham to have her les sons with Mrs Rivers-and would go hun dreds of miles further, if 1t were neces- sary, to study with her-for she adores her and thinks there is nobody in the world like her.
 Both of these children I speak of arc unusually gifted studious and determined to win in their chosen vocation-capable to almost an uncanny degree, and just at the threshold of their teens. It was both pleasure and an amaze ment to hear them play and to get their ideas of life and art-for few years hence-they and their contemporaries will control the output, atmosphere and ] management of such art as we will have. Of the two children mentioned Tot Wilson is well known to the public, but Beverly Hester In the Concert" to be given next Thursday evening at the Cable | hall makes her initial bow to our musi- cal circles.
 ] She is nothing more than child-and child of rare technical powers. She comes of musical stock and is re- lated to Mrs. William Mudd Jordan, Mrs. Paschai Shook, Mrs. Hargrove, Judge Sharpe and many other prominent people | here, and is a source of pride and credit to them all, as well as the pride of her home town--Clanton-where everybody loves little Beverly Hester. What do you like to play best?" I asked initially of this clever child. You | really don't like to practice scales and Each, do you? Don't you think Fox Trots, and Rags are much more fIn?" The child looked at me in amazement.