Evening star., 1951-05-08
By Elena de Soyn

The debut OF the newly 1ounoed
Junior National Symphony Or
chestra in Constitution Hall yes
Iterday afternoon was a great event
in the lives of 98 boys and girls
who form it. To those who at
tended the concert. it was
evidence that youth shares
abundantly in the musical prog
ress made by the city and has
attained at this stage the pinnacle
of it's ambition-to play under a
conductor of a major symphony
orchestra, such as Howard
Mitchell. The foundation Of this
orchestra gives also promise to
hundreds of other young people
and provides an incentive to work.
Only a score of years ago. at
the time the National Symphony
Orchestra was founded. such a
large teen-age ensemble would
have been unthinkable. 1t is.
however, the indirect influence of
that orchestra during formative
years of the city's children. the
part music plays now in the edu-
cational system Of Washington
and the excellence of its local
music teachers. that gets the
credit for the Junior National
Symphony's leaping into existence
almost overnight.
Incredible as it may seem, it
took only seven or eight rehearsals
to bring the young musicians into
shape. This could not have been
accomplished had it not been for
the foundation laid in the young
Sters by thoSe in charge of their
early musical education. It is un-
fortunate that not more curiosity
was displayed by adults to fill
the house and to see what the q
schools represented there had
accomplished.
The choice OF the program made
possible a concert estimate of va
rious sections and Of the general
ensemble. The best overall re-
suits were achieved in Beethoven's
"Egmont Overture; Bizet's Car
men Suite" with some ex-
cellent woodwind playing; in
Strauss Thunder and Lightning
Polka" where the percussion sec
tion had it's say so; in the Rodgers
Bennett oklahoma" selections
and in Sousas STARS and Stripes
Forever" used as an encore. Here,
three fiutiSts and whole section
OF trumpets were lined up in the
solo parts in full view of the audi
ence. The orchestra sounded big
S1belius' "Finlandia" closed the
concert.
ID. c. Composers Program.
Another display of local talent
this time from the adult world
took place last night in the Phil
lips Gallery. Assisted by promi-
nent resident artists, the Wash
lngton Composers Club gave its
annual program of compositions
by its seven members.
Honors went also to a resident
poet, Clarence Dan Blachly of
Takoma Park. whose two poems
Where Does 1t Coz" and "Swav-
ing Reed" were set to music bv
4: Dean Shure. However, Mr.
Blachly was not the only poet
present in the audience. AS the
evening progressed, it was dis
closed that Mr.. Shure was respon-
Slole for the words in his Dream
Clouds" a wedding song composed
IN 1925, and Mary Howe for the
French text to her lifting "Ber-
ceuse." Both of these songs called
forth enthusiastic applause from
the capacity audience.
But it was the piano that formed
the solid basis of the evening and
was uncommonly we'll played
Hllda Offerman presented an early
work by La Sale Spier, revised by
MN two years ago, his Sonata in
B Minor" with its catchy Scotch
Scherzo," Charlotte Dunham
brought out Emerson Meyers So
nata." representative of the mod
ern idiom and brimming over with
the good spirits and the abundant
vitality of the composer. Dorothy
Radde Emery and Bernice Hannah
Mcdaniel played Mrs. Emery's en-
tertaining Suite" based on three
Neopolitan songs for two pianos,
and consisting of "Bagpipers,
"Serenade" and "At the Fair"
Piano was again the feature in
Mrs. Howe's new setting for songs
she composed earlier, now ar
ranged by her for voice and two
pianos. The skillful performance