Evening star., 1943-05-02
Concert Pianist From Ken1UOOd Declares
Seruicemen Most Appreciatiue Audience
Lucille Ferguson
Planning Another
Tour of Camps
Bv Lillian Arthur.

By Lillian Arthur.
Back at her home in Ken
wood, Md, after tour of Army
camps in four Southern States,
Mrs. Courtland D. Ferguson,
know professionally as Lucille
Ferguson, concert pianist, is
planning another trip to meet
again what she declares is 'the
most appreciative audience I
have ever known"
Mrs. Ferguson's story of her
experiences in connection with
her camp appearances is fasci-
mating.
cat my first concert" she says,
in describing her trip, II was q
little concerned as to whether my
selections would be suited to my
audience. I had selected compo-
sitions by Chopin and Liszt for
the first group and three South
American songs for the second
group.
"At the close of the concert I
asked the boys to select their
own music for the encore pro-
gram. OF course, I thought they
would suggest swing or jazz. But,
no indeed!--what they wanted
was classical music and lots of it!
They asked for Debussey and
few requested compositions from
Mcdowell, our American conn.,
poser, and one of the most popu-
lar numbers on the whole pro-
gram was the Spanish concert
piece for piano, 'Malaguena.'".
Wherever she went among the
different camps in North Caro-
lima, South Carolina, Georgia
and Florida, Mrs. Ferguson tried
to select the programs she felt
would meet with the approval of
the boys for whom she was try
ing to provide entertainment. In
every camp she had the same
requests for classical music and
the encore usually lasted longer
than the regular program.
The concerts often ended with
the singing by the members of
the audience of Mrs. Ferguson's
own composition, Hes Yankee
Soldier Boy
They must have liked her and
her music, for in every camp she
visited they asked her to come
back. And that is why she is
starting another tour week after
next.
Music has long been both a
vocation and an avocation with
Mrs. Ferguson, and so it was
only natural that in considering
what she might do to help in the
war program that she should
want to share her musical tai
ent and enjoyment with the men
in the armed services.
Mrs. Ferguson's work with the
men in the camps is on. a purely.
volunteer basis. She pays her
own expenses and receives no re-
muneration of any kind.
Her musical training was much
like that of other girls who have
chosen music as their career.
She started her study in St.
Louis, her home town; went from
there to the Chicago School of
Music and from Chicago to Fon-
tainbleau, France, where she
studied with the famous teacher,
Isidor Philipp. Returning to st.
Louis she played with the St.
Louis Symphony Orchestra and
later did concert work on the
radio.
1t was the war that first inter-
ested her in writing military
music and it was the chance re-
mark of a man in uniform-that
he did not see why some one
could not write a catchy, stream
lined marching song-that led
her to write Hes a Yankee Sol
dier Boy" now frequently heard
on the radio.
Capt. Thomas F.. Darcy, jr.,
leader of the United States Army
Band, heard the song and liked
it, and it was played for the first
time in public by the Army Band,
with Capt. Darcy conducting.
A few weeks ago Capt. Darcy