The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1918-08-28
ONLY WOMAN
!. SONG TEACHER
Miss EsteIIe cushman, Niece Of W. w.
Cuskman, Wins Many Laurels as
Singer at Army Camps.
is EMPLOYED BY GOVERNMENT
Miss cushman a Graduate Of Hart
ford High School and Of Yale
"MusicaI America" AppIauds.

Courant, published at Hartford, Conn.
will be of interest to our readers on
account of the fact that Miss Eestelle
Cushman, the subject of the article, is
niece of our townsman, w. w. Cush
man. Miss Cushman is singer OF
rare ability and is winning great fame
as song leader at Camp Screven, Ty
bee, Ga.,, to which position she was
appointed by the government thls
spring. She has the distinction and
the honor of being the only woman
song leader, in any of the camps
throughout the United States.
miss Cushman is a graduate OF
Hartford Public school and OF Yale,
taking her degree as bachelor OF mus
ic there several years ago. For three
years after leaving college she was
first assistant supervisor OF music IN
the schools of Savannah, and is at the
present time supervisor of music. TN.
til she received her official government
appointment as song leader, her work
for the soldiers had been under the
auspices of the Music Club of Savan-
nah. and the National Federation OF
Woman's Clubs. She is a song writer
of considerable note and her work
in the composing line which is con-
cerned mostly with children's songs,
has found favor with the public. The
Musical America of August IL in an
article of appreciation quotes the fol-
lowing from an interview with Miss
Cushman:
Miss Cushman, pretty, young. blue
eyed, auburn-haired, we'll dressed, is
as charmingly feminine in her manner
and has as winning girl-like way as
t she had never in her life done any.
thing more masculine in its scope
than tatting. "The men are crazy
about singing" she said happily.
"They take to all kinds that you give
them and they are so grateful. mo,
only about forty per cent like the
classical kind, or rather the semi
classical. You know what mean
music that is very good IN itself and
that they have heard SO often that they
are fond Of it, as they are Of some
hymns, or their college songs, and for
the same reason they like Rubenstein's s
Melody in F, and Dvork's Humor-
esque. So they get that kind if they
like it and the popular" kind, but
you'd be surprissd to find how
much the men like to do their own
singing and playing when they can.
When the hot weather came on, for
instance, we had to reduce the fort
concerts to one a week, so we gave
the men their choice between hearing
concert weekly or taking part in a
sing and they almost unanimously
took the Sing
1T makes such a wonderful effect
said Miss Cushman, "to have the men
sing in harmony rather than unison.
But when they first come they are so
funnily bashful about it. l ask them
what they sing and they generally say
/ don't know just sing. or else they
say, 4 can't sing anything Then
have each one sing just line or so,
and put him in first tenor or second
or bass and he goes off perfectly
proud of himself. Presently they are
singing away at part songs, as though
they had known harmony all their
lives. Some of the quartets we have
made have done such good work when
the men got thoroughly interested that
the members have been asked to trav'
ell about the neighborhood towns to
give concerts
"Miss Cushman is spending a few
weeks at home and expects to go ov'
erseas in the fall. Her enthusiasm
talent, and self-devotion are assets
which make her undaunted in a field
of wide scope and variety, and which
should win her way in her chosen
work"