Author Archives: Claire Hughes

The Legendary Marian Anderson

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What would you do if you were barred from a concert hall? Well, if you’re Marian Anderson then you go to a bigger and better venue. In 1939, the Daughters of the American Revolution’s Concert Hall barred Marian Anderson from performing due to racial discrimination. There had been a clause written into every contract issued by the Daughters of the American Revolution that instituted a white-only policy. Her response was to instead hold a concert at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC.

Donnell Lewis’ 1990 Census Poster of the event

Initially invited to perform as a part of a concert series held by Howard University, they were hard-pressed to find a venue that would hold the sheer amount of people who wanted to watch her perform. She starts the concert with My Country ’Tis of Thee, and follows with two arias (Donizetti’s La Favorite, Schubert’s Ave Maria) and three spirituals (Gospel Train, Trampin’, and My Soul is Anchored in the Lord).

There is a lot to think about when looking at this event. There have been so many obstacles that have been put in front of black artist’s lives and careers based on racial discrimination. These performers often have to get creative in order to continue on, and that is how stories like these emerge.

Coat worn by Marian Anderson during the performance

Marian Anderson was denied a basic need for her concert solely based on the color of her skin and gave a performance at the Lincoln Memorial that is a true testament to her, and is one that will forever be remembered by the American people.

 

Works Referenced:

1990 Census Poster of Marian Anderson | Smithsonian American Women’s History. Accessed November 22, 2024. https://womenshistory.si.edu/object/1990-census-poster-marian-anderson:acm_2004.0014.0002.

Smithsonian Institution. “Get the Latest News from the Smithsonian.” Smithsonian Institution. Accessed November 22, 2024. https://www.si.edu/object/marian-andersons-fur-coat:acm_1992.0034.0001.

Stamberg, Susan. “Denied a Stage, She Sang for a Nation.” NPR, April 9, 2014. https://www.npr.org/2014/04/09/298760473/denied-a-stage-she-sang-for-a-nation.

Our Place in History: Lifting as we Climb, Forward into the Light

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Last week in the Flaten Art Museum, I was somewhat surprised to see an exhibit on the concert Lifting as we Climb, Forward into the Light that happened last spring with the Manitou Singers and Dr. Hibbard along with many local Soprano/Alto choirs. The wall features one of the pins that was worn by each performer, and on a flat surface the program is displayed. On the front of the program was recognition that the Høyde Quartet (in which I am the second violinist) had been accompaniment for part of the performance.

One of the buttons worn by performers

Seeing this made me reflect a bit on what it means to be a part of something like it. We got to work with the Manitou singers on Andrea Ramsey’s Suffrage Cantata, however it was only a part of the whole concert. As a whole, it was a huge undertaking by everyone involved and I had not realized that until the day of the performance. Seeing all of these choirs get together to deliver so much music was very moving, and it was great to see so much community being formed as a result.

Høyde and Dr. Hibbard after the concert


It’s not until you see the aftereffects of something that you realize the significance of it. When we first started working on the Suffrage Cantata with Manitou, it definitely felt like just another gig. Seeing everyone who showed up to perform or watch made me realize how important these things are to people. I find this to be especially poignant with all of the elections happening right now. It’s so important to look into the past history of elections and voting and think about how it has influenced the present, especially since voting is such an important part of our society.

The 1851 World’s Fair and Polka: A Love Affair

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When seeing anything from the World’s Fair, isn’t your first thought “Yeah, I bet there’s a polka about this”. I’m kidding, of course. No one thinks that. However, you may be surprised to learn of the phenomenon that is the World’s Fair Polka, as there are at least two of them. One that I could find was written by J.C. Beckel and the other by W. Vincent Wallace, and they both were written during the time of the 1851 World’s Fair.

the cover art of J.C. Beckel’s polka

Why polka? Well, it was actually a very popular form of music in the United States during that time and J.C. Beckel, being an American himself, would have been hearing a lot of that music during the time. W. Vincent Wallace was Irish, but polka had also gained a lot of popularity in Europe. 

cover for W. Vincent Wallace’s take on this idea

There is not a whole ton of scholarship on the likely reasons why polka music might have been these two composer’s choice of genre to write about the world’s fair, but it is quite an interesting thing to think about. I would wonder if these two ever knew each other or knew of each other’s similar compositions. I would wonder about the kind of venues these would be performed at. Would they have been performed at the World’s Fair?

from the Crystal Palace exhibition at the 1851 World’s Fair

While there are always many questions to be asked and not as many answers to be found, I will leave you with this- isn’t it so interesting that musical genres and ideas can line up in incredibly interesting ways like this? It really makes a person think about all of the connections humans make all the time, sometimes without even knowing it.

 

Works Referenced:

Beckel, J. C. The World’s Fair polka. Philadelphia: T. C. Andrews, 1851. Notated Music. https://www.loc.gov/item/2023804129/.

“Beckel, James Cox 20.Dec.1811-2.Feb.1905 USA Pennsylvania, Philadelphia – Philadelphia Organist, Studied with Filippo Traetta and at the American Conservatory of Music Philadelphia, 1824-1832 Organist of St James Episcopal Church in Lancaster Pennsylvania ccm :: Beckel, James Cox Beckel. Accessed October 22, 2024. https://composers-classical-music.com/b/BeckelJamesCox.htm.

The rebellious, scandalous origins of polka – JSTOR daily. Accessed October 23, 2024. https://daily.jstor.org/the-rebellious-scandalous-origins-of-polka/.

Wallace, W. Vincent. The World’s Fair polka. New York: William Hall and Son, 1851. Notated Music. https://www.loc.gov/item/2023804034/.

“William Vincent Wallace.” Contemporary Music Centre, October 14, 2024. https://www.cmc.ie/composers/william-vincent-wallace.

The Unwritten History of Peter M Slocum, American Luthier

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The history of making stringed instruments is a long and well documented one. However, if you look closer you will see that there seem to be a few gaps. This week as I was doing my research I came across a few summaries from the April 11, 1828 edition of Freedom’s Journal. One of which discusses a man named Peter M. Slocum and describes him as a man who had an ingenious method of crafting string instruments, even saying that his method made the instruments sound better than those from Cremona, Italy (this is in reference to the violins of Stradivari, Amati, Guarneri, etc).

The summary in question

As this is such a hefty claim, it immediately piqued my interest. Much to my dismay, there was almost nothing to be found. I began to wonder if this man ever existed. A quick visit to Google did show one result: that there is documentation of one of his violins. It’s quite interesting looking, with almost no edges and shaped more like a guitar than a traditional violin.

One of Slocum’s violins, on display at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston

Since I had half determined that this was an actual person, I decided to continue on. An extensive search in the Afro-Americana Imprints from the Library Company of Philadelphia database proved to be no help as almost all mentions of the violin were parts of stories such as Swallow Barn by JP Kennedy, where the author is either writing about someone playing violin, using it to describe a certain sound, or other various uses. I then traipsed over to Google Scholar in hope of finding something. I got one result, which was from a dissertation on American Violin making by Sarah Gilbert Pickett, a student at Florida State University. She mentions Slocum and even gives his dates and a footnote. As I excitedly check the footnote I am left in despair as I click the link and am sent to an error, as the page does not exist anymore. Furthermore, the footnote was from the website of the Boston Fine Arts museum and would have simply been about the guitar shaped violin of his they had on exhibit. Pickett describes him as a “particularly interesting” violin maker but offers no solid proof that she has any information about him other than his interesting looking violin.

Drawing depicting the act of violin making

I have now been left with more questions than answers. Could it be due to his race or some other aspect about himself that there is such little information? Since I was unable to find out anything in that regard, I do not know. How does someone who has left entire instruments behind have almost no actual documentation? Could this possibly be a pen name someone was operating under? What can we do to uncover these lost histories and is there any way that can even happen?

Works Referenced:

Guitar-shaped violin – works – Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Accessed October 11, 2024. https://collections.mfa.org/objects/51310.

Kennedy, John Pendleton. Swallow barn, or A sojourn in the Old Dominion. By J.P. Kennedy. New York City: George P. Putnam, 1851. Readex: Afro-Americana Imprints from the Library Company of Philadelphia. https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/readex/doc?p=AFAMER&docref=image/v2%3A13D59FCC0F7F54B8%40EAIX-147E02C84431E210%40-14BA4E5019A86BA0%4023.

Pickett, Sarah Gilbert. “Tradition and Innovation in American Violin Making.” Order No. 28320843, The Florida State University, 2021, https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/tradition-innovation-american-violin-making/docview/2547053260/se-2 (accessed October 11, 2024).

“Summary.” Freedom’s Journal (New York, New York), April 11, 1828: 5. Readex: African American Newspapers. https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/readex/doc?http://p=EANAAA&docref=image/v2%3A132FB88A16969E1C%40EANAAA-132FC8D8C1791728%402388824-132FC3AB84B04D58%404-1389CB5BB343DEC0%40Summary.

Musician Spotlight: Tania León

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Tania León is a name synonymous with innovation and cultural richness in contemporary classical music. She was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1943, and moved to the United States in the 1960s. She came over as a refugee on one of the “freedom flights”, which were flights that brought people from Cuba to the United States after much negotiation between the countries.

León is very well known for being a composer, conductor, and educator. She started composing after helping start the Dance Theater in Harlem and co-founder and choreographer Arthur Mitchell encouraged her to start writing music for the ballet. She is now the music director of the ballet. She found that she had a real knack for composing and won a Pulitzer prize for her orchestral work titled Stride, inspired by Susan B. Anthony.

In addition to composition and piano, she has done a lot of work in education and amplifying underrepresented voices.  She helped found the group based in New York named “Composers Now,” whose purpose is to bring forward the voices of diverse composers. 

In addition to all of these accomplishments, she is also a well-known conductor. Having studied with conductors such as Leonard Bernstein and Seiji Ozawa, she found a knack for this area of music as well. On being a female Cuban conductor she says “It’s not common for a woman of my skin color to conduct serious music, so I have to know the score inside out, or work twice as hard as male conductors.” This quote from her highlights the importance of recognizing the hard work that she has put in and all of the boundaries that she had to overcome to get to where she is today. Tania León has had and continues to have a major impact on the world of classical music.

 

Works Referenced:

Carnegiehall.org. Accessed October 1, 2024. https://www.carnegiehall.org/Explore/Articles/2024/04/01/An-interview-with-Debs-Composers-Chair-Tania-Leon.

Huizenga, Tom. “The Unplanned, Unstoppable Career of Composer Tania León.” NPR, December 2, 2022. https://www.npr.org/2022/12/02/1139948319/the-unplanned-unstoppable-career-of-composer-tania-leon.

“Tania León: Quote on Women Music Conductors.” In The American Mosaic: The Latino American Experience, ABC-CLIO, 2024. Accessed October 1, 2024. https://latinoamerican2.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1327973.

In A League of His Own: Bill Miller

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New Age Native American music emerged in the late 20th century as a fusion of traditional indigenous sounds and contemporary influences. Artists like Bill Miller and R. Carlos Nakai are notable figures in the emergence of this genre, which celebrates Native American culture while reaching broader audiences. In this post I will be focusing on Miller’s contribution to the New Age Native American scene.

Miller’s 1992 Hit “Tumbleweeds”

The work that Bill Miller has done has been of paramount importance. From his symphonic work to folk albums, he’s done it all. On his success in the media, it was said in the January-March 1996 edition of Akwesasne Notes “I believe his label has pushed the “Indian” side of Bill’s music, but Bill delivers it well, he could be played on any number of mainstream music formats.”And that he was. Miller’s music has been included on projects such as the Grammy winning song Colors of the Wind  from Disney’s Pocahontas, and has done collaborations with many other artists including Pearl Jam, Tori Amos, and Arlo Guthrie. In the year 2000, he brought home five Nammys from the Native American Music Awards.

Miller has been able to very successfully weave together these many traditions with his Native American identity, and it has been a true testament to the importance of music in everything. For example, his symphonic world titled The Last Stand about the Battle of Little Bighorn was a huge deal when it premiered in 2008. The performance was sold out and there were many pictures taken that are now a part of the Smithonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. Music has the power to impact so much, and Bill Miller’s music has and continues to do so.

Works Referenced:

“Akwesasne Notes Vol. 2 No. 1.” American Indian Digital History Project. Accessed September 19, 2024. https://www.aidhp.com/items/show/3. 

Key, Tyler, Ken Lingad, and Bill Miller. “Main Home.” Official Bill Miller Website, December 9, 2022. https://billmiller.co/pages/about/.