The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-11

| WZESTERDAY was an awfully nice i IT day for me; I met lot of interest = ing people. I heard a lot of inter ]! field of music and art we are to be very
 much elated within the next few weeks, beginning this evening with the concert
 given under the auspices of the Music
 Study club. by Madame Evelyn Scotney. the celebrated Australian soprano.
 1 The incest thing perhaps that happened to me in a very nice eventful sort of day 1 was meeting Madame Scotney. I liked her; she's very good looking; she's very I lprepossessing, and her odd accent and
 exotic manner constitute a personality
 that is indeed charming.
 1 That word personality reminds me ! that Madame Scotney used it, too when I've were talking about just what it Is
 that makes song "go;" just what it is l that makes an audience perfectly love some singers and perfectly hate others.
 she offered the suggestion:
 1 Its that fatal thing called personality, 1 whatever it is; that little thread between l the singer and an audience that either I sonality. You are either born with it or without It; that's the definition
 | I began by asking Madame Scotney if
 she was just like everybody else; that is, If she was married and kept house while
 she was "off duty" and liked to dabble
 in the lsitcehn, and do things
 I'm very much married smiled the I handsome prima donna, when tell you I that my husband, who is musician also and his name is Howard White, is six feet I three inches tall. I think you'll say he's I a regular man. I almost lost him in Aus tralia he made such a hit there when The appeared
 You see, I've only been in this country I five years" Madame Scotney said T studied in London, going there as pro- l tege of Madame Melba's she being, as l you know, my countrywoman. She took me to her teacher, Madame Marchesi, and ] from her I went to Tosti and during the 1 time met MT. Russell of the Boston opera. l and through him made my affiliations with that opera in this country. It was while I was singing in the Boston opera
 that I met Miss Bessie, Cunningham of Birmingham. We sang together during l the last regime of the old opera com pany. I intended to go to Europe after that, but on account of the war, of course, l I was prevented from doing so.'
 What effect will the war have on mu- sic in this country?" I asked
 l "The main effect is to flood it with musicians from the other side" Madame Scotney said. Really, there are so many musicians now in America that it is a wonder how they all survive. Otherwise, 1 I think the war will have little effect ex-
 cept to develop great talent among Amer
 ican composers. Already there are some
 delightful examples of American music i which is quite an encouraging sign. l "As to programme making" sug- gested "What have you to say on that
 subject?"
 1 Tt is the one branch of concert work that interests me perhaps more than any 1 other" Madame Scotney said. To please a mixed audience, to be able to l sing a programme that will reach every l body is one of the most difficult things ! in the world until you know how to do 1 it. In Australia my husband and I gave l il concerts in the same town within a month; there was not one programme like another; it taxed the capacity of our l repertoire, his numbering about 110 songs, 1 and 10 or 12 airs, while mine numbered something like S0-odd songs; there, of course, we gave the English, French and Italian groups, but no German, which
 naturally made big gap, because there are so many wonderful German songs suitable for concert. I have now in prepa- ration 15 programmes each different from the other and may say that this espe- l ciai feature of the concert work is ab- sorbing and most important"
 "Yes, should give the same pro- gramme here that would in New York