Omaha daily bee., 1922-05-14
Nj II s | G.
BY JEAN p. pUPPIELp.


~ given In tie burgess.Nssh tea
- room which for some reason o.
other is not receiving the atteutioa
lis merits justify,
The Omaha Woman's club stands
sponsor ior this course, which b
being presented on the five Monday
mornings in May. and partskes OF the
nature OF . May music festival The
two concerts thus far given have
been thoroughly worthwhile. and the
three yet 10 come promise fully %
much In the way OF musical interest
~ their two torerunness. The mu-
sie has been supplied by an orchestra
of about 10 oi the Gifts most ex.
perieneed players. well drilled and
rapabiy directed by Robert Cusca.
den. who has selected for perform.
sncc works OF the best classical and
modern composers. In addition. six
well known local musicians have
been chosen 10 function - soloists
on the various programs. The final
concert will bring to = hearing the
Woman's club chorus. under the
direction OF Henry Cox.
The Burgcss-Nash tea room, while
spacious, is not OF unusually large
proportions. We are not informed
AS TO its exact seating capacity. but
judge the same 10 be somewhere be-
tween four and five hundred. Hardly
more than half OF this space has
thus far been utilized by the attend
ant audiences.
Is there really so little interest in
orchestral music in Omaha?
To be sure. a company OF instru-
mentalists summarily called together
and briefly rchcarscd cannot offer
the artistic solidarity OF a larger and
more seasoned body. No such claim
has been made. But II Is matter for
surprise that programs OF real nnisi-
cal value. adequately and capabiy
performed. should occasion such lin
tied response.
We should have imagined that at
the prices for which this course is
being offered, all the available space
would be occupied and the Standing
room only" sign conspicuously dis
played some time before the begin
ming OF each program.
But every human unit Is busily
engaged in chasing his favorite phan-
tom. And in many cases this has
not taken the form of listening to
orchestral music on recent Monday
mornings in Omaha. Possibly the
day and the hour have something to
do with the difficulty. Washdayl
Aye, there's the rubi Our advice
was not sought in the matter of
arranging dates for these affairs, but
next time we should use our influ-
ence in favor Of some other day. And
the morning hour of 10 is slightly
disarranging. But it must be re-
membered that these busy musicians
must be taken when they can be
gotten. II is case of gathering
the flowers while we may, or. in the
bright lexicon Of the Woman's club,
hearing our music while It's May.
Meantime, might not a mention of
the things in prospect entice few
timid visitors to the scene Of these
unusual ministrations7 For instance,
there are surely some who would de-
sire to SAVIOUR the all French pro-
gram tomorrow with Madge West
Sutphen playing the "Rondo Capric-
cioso" BY Saint Saens. And there
must be others who, if they knew
of il, would wish to be among those
present at the "Iphigenia" PERFORM
ance scheduled for May "a.
"Iphigenea" is the work Of two
local men: Charles S. Elgutter, who
wrote the play, and Wallace Wheel
er, who has set portion of it to
music. Mr.. Elgutter's play is q mod
ern version Of the old Greek tragedy,
which stems from Euripedes. It was
issued for private circulation some
time ago, when it occasioned favor
able comment from many sources.
Mr.. Wheeler's music is spoken Of
with enthusiasm by those who are
familiar with it. Miss Beryl Burton
and Mr.. Lawrence Dodds will appear
in the solo parts. And the choral
concert under Mr.. Cox should act Is
: magnet to those who enjoy good
singing.
We hold no brief for this particu-
lar set Of concerts, but we are vital
" and nightly interested in music in
general and have no desire to see I
good movement in the right direc-
ton languish for lack Of patronage.