Omaha daily bee., 1917-11-18

or other organizations when
they thoughtlessly mix amateur and
professional talent. The entertain
ment committee means we'll when it
decides to have a musicale, and all in
nocently it sets itself about the task
OF making up the component parts OF
IT. But 1t is often so inVrested in
how many numbers it will succeed in
getting, that it often loses sight of the
program itself, and of the fact that a
unified, we'll balanced evening of few
er and less diversified numbers is
much better than one that is COM
posed of all sorts and descriptions of
music. In the first place the COM
mittee torgets, or never gives a
thought to the idea that the program
should be one complete thing, and that
everything else should be subordinated
to a consideration OF it. 1t wants the
club 7|aembers to feel that it has done
weX and everybody to be satisfied.
ltfrles to please everybody by some
number rather than to present one
beautiful artistic result by the whole.
Members decide to ask one or two
of the leading musicians in town
to be on the program. Then
member number one has dear
friend who sings and she wants her
on, too. Member number two wants
to have the son of prominent rem
Der of the club who studies the violin,
to play. Member number three says,
there is waiter at his club who has
never taken a lesson in his life who
can sing dandy songs, and that he will
try and get him, and the program is
complete. What is the result if they
all accept?
The musicians see the young girl
who sings and the violin pupil (of
another violinist, than one of the mu-
Bicians on the program, perhaps), and
they do not feel at all honoted, to ap-
pear on democratic footing with
either of them, and they feel more as
if some one was always taking the JOY
out of life after they hear them. The
poor boy who plays the violin is SO
embarrassed by the presence of the
professional violinist, that he cannot
do himself justice, and resents from
the bottom of his heart the parental
obligation which has forced him to
play at this time, when he knows how
poor his offering must sound after
the fine broad tone and muSicianly in
depreciation of the professional musi-
clan. The friend who sings, perhaps
is one of those who really doesn't,
but thinks she does, and who does her
share to lower the standard of the
program. Or perhaps she is just a
sweet li.tle girl, who has only studied
voice a few months and does the
best she can with what she knows,
buy who is by no means ready to
appear upon the same program with
two professionals. Then comes the
colored waiter with his coon songs,
and with a crash and bang he dis
pels any illusions of art that may
have remained up to his appearance,
and then the musicians are 'insulted !!
Not because he is a colored man and
a waiter, but because he is no musi-
clan, and deserves no place Upon a
program that pretends to be musi-
Gale. Of what use all their years of
careful training, and arduous work
if they are to come to this3 Why play
before people anyway, and bring them
some artistic masterpiece, to have the
effect of aesthetic beauty cast aside
by the coarse unrehned mockery
which follows it? The musicians are
Justly aggrieved to be put upon such
a program, the violin pupil feels that
he has not had fair show, but rather
been shown up in all his crudeness,
and the friend who sings either is de-
lighted to have appeared anywhere or
likewise embarrassed according to her
temperament. W,
But the worst part about it is that
the committee has failed entirely
where it intended to do so we'll. The
resulting program has not given to
the audience the pleasure and enjoy
ment it was expected. Nobody is sat
ished.
1t would have been much better If
the committee had turned over the
music to the two professional musi-
clans, who perhaps would have been
Just as willing to play several numbers
as one apiece, and had it real musi-
Gale, which the people were led to
expect. Or, if they wished to furnish
an opportunity for their young friends
to play, they should leave the pro-
fessional musicians out, and keep it
entirely upon an amateur basis, hav-
ing the music more as an accessory
to a miscellaneous program than as
the main part. Or, if they wanted
coon songs and rag, to get up totally
different kind of entertainment more
upon the order of an amateur vaude-
vile show, and advertise, it as such
and not as musicale. This mixing OF
amateur and professional talent by
committees is never the result OF
malice aforethought, it is due rather
to a lack of thought. At one time
prominent singer gave q musi-
Gale, and after creating a tine. I'M
preston and furnishing much aesthetic
delight, a surprise number was added
in the form of some popular songs OF
the day, sung by man who was nc
singer at all, and the fine impression
of high class music was rudely dis
pelled, the manager of the pro.
gram thought that he had done q
ane thing, and added extra pleasure
% his audience by giving them" the
extra numbers, and never did realize
he had killed his program by engag
ing the ragtime "artist." There are
other instances too numerous to men
ton when similar mixes have beer
arranged by the innocent and unwit
ling committee.
lust as a khaki uniform means
soldier. to a great many people, ano
all soldiers are alike to them, so an,
one that gets up and makes noise
:LL 49, ...:4L hic unica or an in flstr1lmerl