Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1947-06-01
THE SUNDAY STAR, Washington, D. C.
SUNDAY. q. 1870
Cities Compete
In Presenting
Musical Fetes
By Alice Eversmon

W Hta%G kyStSHuH
This is the season OF special
musical festivals and various cities
vie with each other in the variety
and worthwhileness of the programs
planned. One of the great favorites
for festival events Is Bach whose great
Mass in B Minor" was given by
the Cathedral Choral Society last
week. Next Saturday it will be
presented as part of the two-day
Bach festival to be held at the
Baldwin Wallace Conservatory Of
Music in Berea, Ohio. Patterned
on the Bethlehem Bach festival
which opens with the trombone
choir playing from the Moroyian
Church Tower, a brass choir will
play chorales for half an hour pre-
ceding the concerts from the tower
OF Marting Hall.
This particular festival, which
reaches its 18th presentation this
year, is sponsored by large group
of guarantors from all over the
country. The Friday program will
be given over to several cantatas
including the Coffee Cantata," a
Brandenburg concerto and q suite
for cello played by Esther Pierce.
SoloistS from Berea, Cleveland and
Chicago will take part under the
direction of DR.. Albert Riemen-
schneider, head of the conservatory.
The third annual festival on June
13 in the Municipal Stadium in
Philadelphia has been designed on
more mammoth and popular lines.
With Paul Whiteman as master of
ceremonies, the participants will in
clude the New York Philharmonic
Orchestra, Fred Waring, his Penn
sylvanians and glee club; Carrie
Knisley's Philadelphia Piano Or
chestra of % girls, dancers from the
Philadelphia La Scala Opera ballet,
Robert Merrill, baritone of the Met
ropolitan Opera and Hazel Scott,
pianist. The Marine Band and the
Washington Redskins Band will
take part as will Norman Blacks
Orchestra. A thousand selected
voices from the schools Of the Phila-
delphia area will be massed in three
choral clubs and the two 1947 win
ners Of the Voices of Tomorrow"
will make their debut. Close upon
$500 people will participate in the
festival sponsored by the Phila-
delphia Inquirer Charities, Inc.
Repcrt From Toronto
A report from the conference Of
the Association of Women's Com
mittees for Symphony Orchestras,
held In Toronto in April is, Is and
II, brings out some very interesting
facts. Delegates from Washington
were Mrs. G. G. Glover, chairman
of the Women's Committee Of the
National Symphony. and Mrs. Hans
Klagsbrunn, replacing Mrs. Merritt
Ruddock, who was prevented from
Mrs. Mary Howe also
was present as member of the Gen.
trail Committee Of the association
as whole
Twenty orchestras were rep
resented. Among these, as new
members, were those from Mel
bourne, Regina, Vancouver and
Mexico. The report states that al
though the problems are much the
same for each orchestra "our own
problems have the doubtful distinc-
ton of being unique in that we not
only start from scratch every year
but have no endowment, no hall,
no source Of revenue except tickets
and voluntary contributions, no
civic, city or governmental help"
Against the lone struggle of the
National Symphony are listed the
following subsidies elsewhere: Bal
bimore, $4,000 from city annually;
$4,000 from city; Cincin-
natl, 100000 from Fine Arts Institu-
ton, $27 900 from assured sponsors;
Denver, $4,000 from city; Houston,
$4,000 from city with permanent
ooxholders; Mexico. s35 900 from city
and certain industries; Pittsburgh.
$4,000 from city; Toronto, $500
from city, $500 from Board Of
Education for children's concerts:
freehall; streetcar COM
pany sponsors Sunday concert:
own hall, School Board
pays part Of student concert ex-
penses; Indianapolis. $4,000, one
nalf from city, one-half from School
Board; Regina. free hall.
This review does not include
Philadelphia, Detroit. New York
Rochester or Chicago
where endowments and other funds
for orchestras are of staggering pro-.
portions. We can be proud of what
has been done for the National Sym
phony but 1t is pitiful story that
puts the orchestra of the Nations
Capifal at the tail end