Evening star., 1948-05-16
Music Festival
Idea Expands
Rapidly mus.
By Alice Eversmon

The end OF the principal musical
season finds plans or special events
during the summer. Although most
OF the great festivals were held in
Europe in days past, this coun-
try is beginning to emulate the
outlines established for many
years abroad. If what the United
States has to offer is on not
quite so large q scale, the Ameri-
can festivals are assuming more
and more Importance from every
point of view. Their great use
fulness Is in keeping alive the
interest in music and proving be-
yond dispute that programs OF
serious content are not an indoor,
winter pleasure, but one to be en-
1oyed the year round.
In nearby Charlottesville, the
Virginia Music Festival will be held
Friday, Saturday and next Sunday.
1naugurated last spring by the Ma
tional Symphony. its four orchestral
programs will be furnished this year
by the Detroit Symphony with Karl
Kruger directing. Music lovers
from the community were asked to
make suggestions as to numbers to
be played and the highest votes went
to Beethoven's "Symphony No. s.
Rachmaninoff' Concerto No. 2"
and Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue"
Henrietta Schumann will be the
pdano soloist in the two latter works
Glee Club to Sing 'Mass."
Two hundred members of the glee
clubs of the University Of Virginia,
Washington and Lee University,
Randolph Macon Woman's College,
Hollins, Roanoke, Mary Washing
ton, Mary Baldwin and Radford
Colleges will be heard in excerpts
from Bach's Mass in B Minor" on
the opening program. Nearly 1000
musicians from high school bands
from all over the State will partici-
pate. Contests have been held this
year as part of the festival program,
and those qualified for the finals
will be guests at special young
peoples concert and prizes will be
awarded by Edward r. Stettinius,
rector Of the University of Virginia.
On approximately the same dates
in the Ojai Valley in California, the
Ojai Festivals, Ltd, will stage two
weekend preliminary performances
in connection with plan for an
international music. theater and
dance festival. This organization is
going slowly about its arrangements
for the larger festival and is grad
ually working up interest in it. Bal
let performances will be a feature
Of next weeks program, but the
musical items will be furnished by
the American Art Quartet of Los
Angeles and the San Francisco
String Quartet, Martial Singher OF
the Metropolitan Opera and Thor
johnson, conductor He will direct
a presentation OF Mozart's Requiem
In D Minor" to be sung by a chorus
of 26 voices, with four soloists.
Camp Outlines Activities.
The Brevard Music Foundation IN
Brevard, N. c., is new corporation
formed by the combining Of the
TransyIvania Music Camp and the
Festival Association. In their inde-
pendent spheres, the camp will
begin its summer music study ses-
sions on June "a and the music fes-
tival concerts will be held on the
third and fourth week ends in Au-
gust. Artists musicians will be pre-
sented in recitals during the seven
weeks Of the camps educational
program and renowned soloists will
appear with the Festival Symphony
Orchestra, under the direction OF
James Christian Pfohl. An all
Tschaikowsky program will open the
festival series, which will include a
special children's concert on Au-
gust 18.
Artists announced for the festi-
val are Mary Boutwell, and Eileen
Farrell. sopranos; Joseph Battista,
pianist; Tossy Spivakovsky, violinist,
and William Hess, tenor. Concert
master of the orchestra will be Leo
Panasevitch, and Norman Lamb,
violist of the National Symphony,
will be assistant conductor to Mr..
Pfohl.
Fact Stories on Music
Sought by Conference
There Is still time for those in
terested to compete for the contest
sponsored by the American Music
Conference for fact stories on mu-
sic. The contest closes on June l
and entries should be sent to the
conference at 332 South Michigan
avenue, Chicago 4, Ill. There will
be three prizes, totaling $500.
This nonprofit educational organ
ization seeks stories that dramatize
the vital position of music in peo-
pies lives. Some Of the subjects
suggested are music's growing hold
on teen-agers, its place is medi-
cine and surgery, its role in char
acter building and as social as
set. besides it's effect on industry.
community life. family life, in the
church. as civilizing force and as
an agency of international good
will. A story about the home town
band or how the morale of employees
was stimulated or what some nota-
BILE person experienced from music
as an avocation are just what the
group is looking for. The most es-
sential thing Is that the story be
factual and not longer than 1000
words.
WARREN 2. JOHNSON, orsonist
NuuIaeh ealLLe