Evening star., 1927-05-22

official, is the baby" OF the wash
ington Composers Club. and a very
active baby at that. with recog-
nized individuality and conviction i'll
his work.
| katherine Riggs, harpist, has had
marked success with her lecture re-
cital, The Romance of the Harp,
which is we'll worked out and very
entertaining. She also has con-
tributed share to the moderns with
Hasselmans' Harp of the Winds
and little-lleard works by Pierne
and all arrangement by Perilhou of
an old troubadour song.
Miriam Hilton has won many ad-
miring comments for her program
of modern Italian songs. Another
soprano who has featured works by
local composers is Helen Howison.
Charlotte Hartman, whose rich con-
tralto voice is coming out very salts
| factorily. has not done much with
the moderns, but has been busy gain
ing operatic experience in small
parts with the local opera company.
George Dixon Thompson, pianist,
who returned about a year ago from
study in Vienna with Emil Sauer.
gave some little-heard Critics and
Goossens on program for the club.
George H. Wilson, another pianist.
who is among this group, is a recog-
nized leading accompaniSt. Pauline
Woodruff and Lewis Atwater are or
ganists who are members. Louis
Potter, another organist and pianist.
is busy with his work as choir direc-
tor in the leading Baptist church of
Charleston, w. Va. where Ruby
Potter is leading soprano. Another
member. now out of town, is Theo-
dore Turner, violinist. who is estab-
fishing himself in the legal profess
sion in Seattle, Wash. Ruby STAN
ford is another violinist who is
| member.
Katharine Brooks, soprano and
writer not at present in the field OF
musical criticism, is one of the most
alert and active members of the club
and one OF its organizers.
A new member just admitted to
, the group is Raymond G. Moore,
baritone. The club has never given
public program, but has occasion
ally had a guest soloist, Kurt Hetzel,
pianist and conductor. having been
the most recent in that category.
Also the club invited a limited num-
ber of leading musicians to its first
tea, May of this year, highly sue
cessful and pleasingly informal affair.
A MOTHER really alert and serious
"A musical group of this city. quite
newly organized and not given to
public performances. is the Washing
ton Composers Club. The members
are: Dorothy DeMuth Watson.
chairman; Carl Engel, Charles 7.
Ferry, Anton Gloetzner. Alexander
Henneman, Karl Holer. Mary Howe,
William 7. Pierson, Edward c. Pot
ter. r. Dean Shure, Henri Smidt-
Gregor, La Sale Spier, Siegfried
Scharbau, Ervine ]. Stenson, Helen
Ware and Jerome Williams.
This group gave its first public
concert March q of this year, a
very interesting affair. This club.
too. seems given to Spring dinners
and will entertain the music. critics
and correspondents of. musical
papers, with Mr.. Engel,. just RE-
turned from Vienna, as honor guest,
at dinner at the Congressional Club
Friday night of this week.
The purpose Of the Composers
Club is of the laboratory type, criti-
cizing each others compositions con-
sttuctively and hoding meetings with
the unwritten rule that no guests
other than soloists necessary to per-
form their various works be permit
ted to attend these sessions. John
Prindle Scott, the well known song
writer, was honor guest at this first
public concert and at meeting
when the composers compared notes
of their various settings for one
poem as song. Franz c. Bornschein,
the Baltimore critic, was guest and
complimented the club highly on
both the work of members individ-
ually and more particularly on the
fine cooperative club spirit
THERE have been several other
l. programs when works of Amer
lean, and especially Washington,
composers were featured. Perhaps
none has been so unusual as one
with very limited audience OF the
critics only, when real racial music
| native to the African negro race was
presented. The composer was Well
| lineton A. Adams. noted as leader
in local colored educational circles.
He showed a real gift in his ar
rangements of several unusual negro
spirituals, some lighter songs of the
| ballad type, and most of all in his
piano version of a hymn-song dedi-
Gated to "Taru," the Manitou of the
South African tribe of Zulus. The
melody was composed by tribal
chief named Basuta, with the native
title, "Elekula Linamash Uni Name
Anantlanu."
Also the work of the colored
choral group known as the Coleridge-
Taylor Society, Inc, has been very
progressive, and the earlier perform
ance of that composers "Hiawatha," !"
which will be repeated Tuesday
night, was very favorably commented
upon.
I0UITE 0 large group of Washing
~ toniafs went on a musical pill
grimage to Bethlehem, Pa, week
ago last Friday to hear the famous
Bach Choir. in its most appropri..
ate and original setting, give one of
its remarkable festivals. Among
the new recruits to the group was
Mrs. Edwin Parker, who has done
such a fine work in establishing the
musical work on firmer and broad
er basis in the Y. w. c. A. here. 1t
is interesting always to get the re-
action of some one new to the at
4