The Washington times., 1925-03-10
RELIGION BASED
ON MUSIC IS
BEGUN
Musician in New York Spends
His Own Money to Give
Concerts
BY WILLIAM PARKER.
international News Service.

NEW YORK, March 10.-New
York has a religion based on music.
So popular has this form Of
spiritual uplift become in a year
that on a recent cold rainy, Sun
day police reserves turned away
hundreds of persons and 100 were
seated within the "edifice."
There are no personalities in this
religion. Its founder is Josiah
EURO, one OF New York's foremost
orchestra directors Nineteen years
ago he entered New York a poor
immigrant boy from Russia. His
first job was with the late i'm
pressario, Oscar Hammerstein, who
paid him $40 a week.
EURO had come from harsh land,
where poverty was remorseleSs.
Therefore he began to save his dol
lars in America. He piled up q
fortune of $4,000. Now it Is all
gone, dispensed with generous
gesture to make the world better
place in which to live.
The vision" came to EURO short
~ after the great war.
Spiritual Thoughts.
s'I began to think about spiritual
things" explained Euro. i saw
that spiritual rtconstruction was
more necessary than a material re-
construction.
Then came the thought of art
and it's close relationship to re-
Iigion-art in priests robes, art In
stained glass windows. in the con-
struction of religious edlfices. But
more important to me was the
relationship of music and religion.
as A - N nE1N idea
took definite form. have Away
believed that instinctively peopls
continually are cropping for spiritual
advancement. I saw then that
in music / had a potent factor.
for music touches the full scale
OF human emotions. / had seen
this in theaters where ! had
"But how was I to put this idea
OF mine into concrete or smaterial
form?s What with rehe" ~sals. one
symphony orchestra concert avnr-
aces in cost $4S for each musi-
clan. approximately $4,000 for the
concert. Obviously my idea could
not be established on a commercial
basis.
Found Solution.
II found the solution in my own
experience. Every musician at the
outset of his career sets out to be
an artist, a KreisIer, a Heifetz,
a. Paderewski. What happens9 In
New York city there are 10000
musicians. The Metropolitan Opera
House and the symphony orchestra
utilize the services OF around 300.
This leaves 9,7O0 musicians wha
started out in life to DE artists
and who now play in motion pic
ture theaters, cafes and orchestra
pits at musical comedies.
But a musician is an artist till
he dies. / knew this. / got musi-
clans together in groups and ex-
planned my idea. Not for money,
/ told them, but for art. You shall
play the great symphonies you
wanted to play, and you shall play
them with all the spiritual fervor
your soul commands. You shall
play, shall pay
Theaters Free.
"The theaters where we hold our
service cost nothing for rent; man
ayers accord us this courtesy:
Last year the majority of our
'worshipers' were well-dressed young
men, very few women. Now many
women come Sunday to hear us,
and not quite so many young mel.
"Ours Is an unselfish and loving
contribution to humanity. We do
not seek glory. Sometimes there Is
applause after a solo number The
soloist remains seated; there is no
bowling or acknowledgment Of per-
sonal effort"