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Home , Carolyn Long, Dorothy Kirsten, Eleanor Steber, Erika Morini, Ezio Pinza, Gabriella Tucci

B IRMINGHAM M USIC CLUB A CENTENNIAL RETROSPECTIVE 1905-2006

A CENTENNIAL RETROSPECTIVE 1905-2006

B IRMINGHAM M USIC CLUB

i ii Appendix ...... Birmingham Music Club –1908-2007 Series ...... 13 Musical Notes from the Past ...... Governance and Administration ...... Support Groups: Th Leading Force for Cultural Endeavors andMusic Scholarships...... 3 Wonderful Results from the Tiniest Beginnings ...... 2 Th BIRMINGHAM MUSICBIRMINGHAM CLUB: A e Beginning ...... 5th Avenue South, Birmingham, AL 35233. this publication. Printed byEBSCO Media, 801 cost theprinting of generosity underwriting in appreciation to EBSCO Industries, Inc. for its Music Club inNovember, 2006, with Published the bythe Birmingham Guildof you are. Please know that you are appreciated. Birmingham Music Club. But you know who the of promote andlongevity themission shared their time, talents, andresources to to mention allindividuals who have generously aproductive century,summary of itisimpossible for their insightful suggestions. In abrief director. Credit alsogoesto the copy reviewers Cherie Woods, former BMCexecutive longtime Cunningham, BMCBoard historian, and andtodocumentary interviews with Penelope indebted to the Barbara Sloanand EricOlson secretary, BMCBoard. Content isheavily historian, and Jeanne Bradford, recording archives byJanis T. Zeanah, 2005-06Guild history compiled was (BMC) from the club’s Th acknowledgments the Birmingham issynopsis Music of Club’s eJunior Board andGuild ...... 4 BMC Junior Board Past Presidents 1961-2001 Charter Members,Charter Music Study Circle 1906 BMC GuildFounding Members 1988 BMC GuildPast Presidents 2005-06 BMC Past Presidents 1905-2006 Centennial Committee 2005-06 1905-2006 CENTENNIAL RETROSPECTIVE CENTENNIAL www.bhammusiccoop.org [email protected]: Fax 205-322-6206 Phone 205-252-7548 Birmingham,35203 AL 1807 3rd Avenue North MusicBirmingham Club past 100years. Birmingham Music Club’s success for the generations supporters who fueled of the seasonsubscribers,thousands of and volunteers,Dedicated tothehundreds of Photos: Proofreader: Managing Editor: Editor: Cooperative; Harold Williams, andothers. Public Music Birmingham Library; Archivesof &Manuscripts, Birmingham Janis T. Zeanah James Baggett, L. head, Department Robert P. Bauman, Ph.D.

Jeanne B. Bradford

...... 22-26 ...... 1 ...... 6 .....5 contents A Chinese proverb says, “Patience and a mulberry leaf make a silk gown.” And it is true: wonderful results can come from the tiniest beginnings if we will give them time enough to develop.

Th e Beginning: From the Early 20th to the Early 21st Century Th e seed for the Birmingham Music Club (BMC) still dedicated to nurturing the community’s artistic was planted in the fall of 1905 when and environment. harpist Alice Halle Chalifoux chanced to meet another Today, as the oldest cultural arts organization in musician, Julia Neely Finch, on Loveman’s corner while continual operation in the Southeast, the BMC has shopping in downtown Birmingham. Th e city was little brought great musical artists to Birmingham every year more than a 35-year-old pioneer town, and Vulcan, for a century. Th is remarkable accomplishment was the symbol of its burgeoning iron and steel industry, facilitated by the consistent and generous support of had just returned from his debut at the 1904 St. Louis the city’s leading citizens. Th e organization also has Exposition. served as a prototype for Mrs. Chalifoux remarked other groups committed to to her friend that they should fostering the arts. organize a music study club Th anks to the initiative, and lost no time in following generosity, and perseverance up on this thought. In of visionary individuals, February 1906, Mesdames the BMC has survived Chalifoux and Finch enlisted hard times—the Great their friends Lillie Miles Depression, World Wars I Johnston and Laura Jackson and II, the social turmoil of Davids to help them send out the l960s, and fi nancial woes handwritten invitations to 50 that sometimes threatened prominent women who were the club’s very existence. musicians and arts patrons But the past is prologue as the organization and its asking them to join a group supporters move into the for the serious study of music 21st century still dedicated history. No refreshments to the original mission of were to be served, lest this be presenting internationally regarded as merely a social acclaimed artists to event. Th e music study club local audiences. Among was launched with 38 charter Alice Chalifoux, founder, BMC supporters are members, including the four Music Study Club descendants of the founders. Th e prospective early members. Th ey members who responded were eager to join when they represent the second learned a of their musical talents was and third generations not required for membership. On March 16, 1906, they of their families to met at the Chalifoux home on Southside’s Nob Hill carry on the traditions and voted to call the new organization the “Music Study of the organization. Circle.” By 1907, it was known as the “Music Study Th is 1927 choral group of the Music Birmingham has Club” and by 1908 boasted a membership of 62, which Study Club invited men to join in when emerged from its grew to 300 by 1910. their voices were needed and reciprocated founding in 1871 as What started a century ago as a casual conversation when the men’s choral group needed a frontier town of on a downtown street corner produced a music study women’s voices. Choral singing was 900 people to become club that has evolved into a vigorous organization especially popular in the 1920s. Alabama’s largest 1 metropolitan area. From its industrial beginnings as a audiences more than 660 performances, many of which city of the New South rich in mineral resources, it has drew standing-room-only crowds in halls with varying grown into a regional center for health care, education, capacities, some as large as 4,000 or more. In the early business, and fi nance. Th at development has attracted days, the club’s leadership selected the season series. In well–educated, sophisticated citizens who appreciate and more recent years, a booking committee selected the support a wide range of the performing and visual arts. programs and submitted them to the Board for approval. Now fl ourishing in the city are numerous arts groups that Booking Committee members included Stuart Mims, took a cue from the BMC, the fi rst organization to foster Cassell Stewart, Bill Price, and Walter Sechriest, all now cultural endeavors in Birmingham. deceased. Other committee members included Sabert Oglesby, Elberta Reid, Brooks Adams, Dick Deason, Ted Wonderful Results from Tibbs, Th omas Gibbs, Dorothy Porter, and Milburn Price the Tiniest Beginnings – among other loyal supporters of the BMC. Music Study Club Comes of Age Over the years, the Artist Concert Series included Paderewski, Kreisler, Nijinsky, Pavlova, Ballet Russe, Although the Music Study Club continued its early American Ballet Th eatre, Sadler’s Wells Ballet, the interest in music study, after the fi rst few years it began to Metropolitan , , , concentrate on bringing the world’s best performers and , Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops, New entertainment to Birmingham. Th e fi rst paid performer York Philharmonic, Orchestra, Pavarotti, was basso Frank Croxton, presented in the 1908-09 Rostropovich, Rachmaninoff , and countless others of season at Cable Hall. Th e fi rst performer of international national and international reputation (see Birmingham fame was star Homer in the Music Club , page 13). 1910-11 season. Madame Homer insisted on being paid Venues for performances included the Chalifoux before she sang, but box offi ce receipts failed to cover home and other private homes, Cable Hall, Jeff erson her fee. Mrs. Victor Hanson, the club’s president, went Th eatre, the Birmingham Conservatory of Music, backstage to write a personal check for the balance so the Phillips Auditorium, Birmingham Municipal Auditorium diva would give her program. (Boutwell), Temple Th eater, the Museum of Art, In 1911, the Music Study Club joined both the State Birmingham-Jeff erson Civic Center, Alabama Th eater, and National Federation of Music Clubs. Men were Wright Center Concert Hall at Samford University, admitted to membership in 1922. On April 7, 1932, and today the Alys Stephens Center of the University of the study club was incorporated with a new name, Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). the Birmingham Over the years, Music Club. the BMC box offi ce Trustees signing the was downtown at incorporation papers E. E. Forbes & Son were Mrs. Victor H. Piano Company, Hanson, Mrs. George the former site of H. Davis, Mrs. E. the Birmingham J. Rice, Mrs. Ruth Water Works Board, Y. Chandler, Miss Protective Life Emma McCarthy, Building, Harbert Mrs. R. C. Woodson, Center, Park Place and Mrs. J. W. Luke. Tower, Alabama With the fl ourish of a Th eater annex, and pen, these ladies laid now UAB’s Alys the cornerstone for Stephens Center. the BMC we know today. Executive Board of the Music Study Club included (back row) Mrs. J. L. Yancey, Since 1908, the Mrs. Harry O. Underhill, Mrs. W. D. Tynes, Mrs. E. T. Rice, Mrs. W. L. Kroh, BMC annual seasons Mrs. Uptown Singluff , Mrs. Jane Lehman, and (front row) Mrs. George Houston have brought to local Davis, Emma McCarthy, Mrs. George C. Harris, and Alice Graham.

2 Leading Force for Cultural Irene Jordan, Rachel Mathes, and the late Nell Rankin. Endeavors and Music Scholarships Miss Rankin was a leading mezzo- with the In addition to presenting an annual concert series, Metropolitan Opera Company for 25 years (1951-76) and the BMC formed the Birmingham in the starred with other renowned opera companies in America 1920s; provided major funding for the Birmingham Civic and abroad. Miss Jordan, a soprano, and Dr. Symphony in the ; formed Junior Music Study Mathes, a soprano, also sang leading roles at the Met and Clubs; made generous contributions to the Birmingham great opera houses in this country and abroad. Public Library music department; organized a 60-member Other winners who gained critical acclaim on concert civic chorus; sponsored the Young Artists Concert tours in North America and include the virtuoso Series; conducted an active outreach program for local duo- Sam and Delores Hodgens Howard (Miss schools; and in 1941 established a college scholarship Alabama 1961). For more than 30 years, the Howards program recognized as one of the most prestigious in the have been counted among this country’s most outstanding Southeast. duo-pianists. Along with Rachel Mathes, they are now on Th e scholarship program was administered and funded the University of Alabama at Birmingham faculty. fi rst by the BMC, then by a junior volunteer board created by the BMC. When the Junior Board disbanded in 2001, this responsibility reverted to the BMC. In 2004, the organization’s Guild began administering and funding the program. Over the years, the BMC has awarded about $500,000 in scholarships to music students at Alabama colleges and universities. Based on auditions judged by respected musicians, fi rst-place and runner-up scholarships are awarded annually in four categories: piano, voice, instrumentals, and organ. Currently, three of the scholarships are named-- for Mildred Volentine Green, Penelope Cunningham, and Stuart Mims. In addition, the Walter Sechriest Award is for the best overall performance in any category. Contestants are recommended by the music departments of their respective schools and selected for auditions through an application process. Th e Executive Board of the Junior Music Study Club, pictured in Winners perform at the BMC’s spring scholarship 1927, were ushers at the artists’ concerts presented by the senior luncheon. Th ese events have been chaired for the better Music Club at Phillips Auditorium. From left, (top row) are Misses part of 20 years by Anne Lamkin, a member of the Sallie Rowe, Katherine McKay, Pauline Zinser and (middle row) BMC Board and past president of the BMC Guild, with Dorothy Simpson, Minnie Lou Waldrop, Belle McCall Hart, assistance from Cherie Woods, former BMC executive Hagan, Ellen Barnett and (front row) Ruth Garrett, director. Dr. James Dorroh was a longtime coordinator Ruth Herring, Florette Cohn, and Betty Bonham. of the scholarship program before the BMC turned its administration and funding over to the Guild in 2004 Scholarship winners also have enriched the cultural with Lyndel Lyons as coordinator. Among others who environment by pursuing music as an avocation rather served in this capacity were Dr. Stephen Schaeff er and than a vocation. Just one example is Martha Moore Joseph Schreiber. Sykes. While a public relations practitioner in New Scholarship winners have gone on to become York, she served on the Opera Board and distinguished teachers of a new generation of musicians. was a founder of the Guild. She Th ey also are highly valued as accomplished members was president of the BMC Board from 1992-94 after of the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (now returning to her native Birmingham, where she now Alabama Symphony Orchestra) and Civic Chorus (now resides. Birmingham Concert Chorale). Some achieved national and international acclaim. Among them are opera stars

3 Support Groups: Th e Junior Board As the BMC moves into its 101st year, Martha Schoel, who has served the Guild with dedication in several roles, and Guild leads the support group as president. As the BMC’s activities required increased support, the Junior Board was organized in 1961 to assist with box offi ce duties and scholarship auditions. Gail Bolvig, Following the 1975 performance of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra at the BJCC, Conductor (center) was daughter of longtime BMC member Edwina Evans, honored at a reception hosted by (from left) Mr. and Mrs. Rafe was the fi rst president of this volunteer group, which Hirsch and Mrs. Cliff ord Fulford and Mr. Fulford. BMC Board began with 40 young women and quickly grew to a members attended the party. membership of 115. Th e Junior Board’s primary project was funding and the music scholarship program for college students. Junior Board volunteers coordinated successful fundraising events, assisted with hospitality for guest artists, and supported the BMC’s activities before disbanding in 2001. In 1988, volunteers formed the Guild of the Birmingham Music Club to support the Artist Concert Series, promote community outreach programs such as the children’s concerts, and sponsor music workshops in schools. Since 2004, responsibility for administering and funding the scholarship program has become the Guild’s priority. Penelope Cunningham founded the Guild, along with organizers Jo Campbell and Toula Fulford. Sarah Scruggs also assisted in the Guild’s beginning. Founding members were Jeanne Bradford, Barbara Breard, Pauline Ireland, Ellen Cunningham, Jan Elliott, Anne Lamkin, Mary Helen McCoy, Sylvia Patrick, Anne Rainer, Nancy Sechriest, Babs Simpson, and Jackie Warfel. Pauline Ireland served a few months as fi rst president, followed by Nancy Sechriest. Two hundred charter members were recruited. Membership averaged around 250 each year until 2005-06, when Susan Tipler, Chairman of 101 new members joined the Guild. Th is brought total “Take Note,” held on December membership to more than 300 and realized the goal of 1, 2005, and Steve Tipler John Haley and “Take Note” Co- Membership Co-Chairs Lochrane Coleman Smith and Chairman Sandra Haley Marlea Foster to salute the BMC’s 100th year with at least 100 new Guild members. Among offi cers Th e success of the BMC’s centennial observance can be for the 2006- credited largely to Guild members and the enthusiastic 2007 Guild leadership of Guild Co-Presidents Virginia McDorman year are front and Jessie Bean. A high point of the year’s activities was (from left) Anne Bryson, the formal 100th birthday celebration for the BMC on project vice December 1, 2005, at the Country Club of Birmingham. president, and Susan Tipler and Sandra Haley co-chaired this gala event, Sue Watkins, which raised a substantial amount for music scholarships. historian. Back Another spectacular birthday celebration was the annual row (from left) are Lyndel Lyons, scholarship vice president, Martha scholarship luncheon co-chaired by Anne Lamkin and Schoel, president, Shirley Brown, treasurer, Toni Bone, placement vice Lisa Hayles. It was held at Mountain Brook Club on president, and Lochrane Coleman Smith, executive vice president. April 27, 2006.

4 Governance and Administration on behalf of the BMC are the late box offi ce managers Th e BMC operates as a non-profi t organization Grace Bozenhard and Jo Campbell, and former executive governed by a volunteer board of men and women from director Cherie Woods. Mrs. Bozenhard operated the the community, some of whom are Guild members. BMC box offi ce for 30 years before retiring in 1960. All are committed to the belief that a city’s greatness is A singer and musician in her own right, she won the directly related to the opportunity it off ers to hear great Festival of Arts Silver Bowl Award for her contributions music. Th e Board is governed by elected offi cers, who to Birmingham’s cultural development. Mrs. Campbell constitute the Trustees. In July 2006, Wyatt Haskell recognized the need for support groups and encouraged succeeded Philippe Lathrop as president of the Board. their formation. Mrs. Woods, who served the BMC from 1988-98 as executive director and continued on staff until 2001, instituted the practice of off ering free concert tickets, when available, to such groups as students at the School for the Blind. Th is resulted not only in enhancing their quality of life, but also promoted audience development and generated good will in the community. Th e BMC experienced an outstanding period of growth. Webb Robertson became executive director in 1999 and served until 2003. Since 2003, an executive director has been chief operating offi cer with the assistance of three paid staff members under the umbrella of the Birmingham Music Cooperative. Th e Cooperative, established in the interest of cost- eff ectiveness and effi ciency, also coordinates activities for Opera Birmingham, the Birmingham Society, and the Birmingham Art Music Alliance. As executive director of the Birmingham Music Cooperative, John Jones takes the lead in program selection for the BMC’s annual “Classically Inclined” season. Traditionally, these selections are tailored to the tastes of Birmingham audiences and refl ect a range of highly regarded performing artists. From left (top) in 1934 are With the generous support of private citizens, Mrs. Glenn Montgomery, businesses in the community, and grants, the Music Club Juvenile Work chairman, and Mrs. Hubert BMC continues to off er reasonably priced Scruggs, social chairman. Also tickets. Ever-increasing costs necessitate pictured (bottom) are Mrs. Burr fundraising events to supplement revenues for Nabors (left), corresponding the BMC’s presentation of the most sought- In the past, all BMC operations, secretary, and Mrs. E. T. after performing artists and to ensure the including the box offi ce, Bozenhard, treasurer. solvency of the Guild’s scholarship program. advertising, and mailings, were With substantial support and enthusiastic handled by a salaried offi ce manager and occasional audiences, the BMC looks forward to preserving for part-time paid staff member along with volunteer another spectacular century Birmingham’s “silk gown” that help. Especially appreciated for their longtime eff orts evolved from a “mulberry leaf.”

5 Musical Notes from the Past h During this era, the Music Study Club sponsored morning and Excerpted from the BMC documentary afternoon musicales, as well as the researched and scripted by Barbara Sloan and Artist Concert Course (later Series). Eric Olson; fi les of the Birmingham Music Club, 1930-1949 Junior Board, and Guild; and newspaper articles h Criticized for bringing world- from the Birmingham Public Library archives. renowned artists such as Jose Iturbi to Birmingham at a diffi cult time for 1910-1929 citizens from all walks of life, Mrs. h As Ignace Paderewski chugged out of John Wallace Luke, club president L & N Station the morning after his concert from 1931-33, said it was the duty in BMC’s 1913-14 season, crowds of local of the BMC to present music to girls clamored for a glimpse of the artist or a help fi ght the enemy— that is, the snatch of his hair. Great Depression. Th e club helped h When played his the sagging economy by hiring magical in the 1914-15 season, the unemployed musicians to play for box offi ce took in $1,250. His fee was concerts and galas. $1,500. Th e BMC president, Mrs. h In a Birmingham Post article, Former Music Club presidents and members George Houston Davis, handed of the Board of Governors are Mrs. George Alyce Billings (later Walker) wrote him a personal check for the $250 Houston Davis (standing), and Mrs. J. W. Luke on October 13, 1933, “No ‘New shortage. He declined the off er, and Miss Emma McCarthy (seated). Deal’ is necessary for Birmingham protesting, “It pleases me just as music lovers, only a continuance of much to play for the high standards set by the club $1,250.” (BMC).” Th e season series h In 1917, the brought Sergei Rachmaninoff , club’s most , , ambitious and soprano . undertaking to After Rachmaninoff ’s virtuoso date was hosting performance, admirers rushed the 10th Biennial backstage to congratulate him Convention of the in his dressing room. Shaken National Federation when the great Russian pianist of Music Clubs responded only with silence during the fi rst term and a stony stare, they were of President Lillie comforted when his manager Drennen Davis. explained, “Don’t mind Sergei. h In 1927, He doesn’t understand or speak the Music Study a word of English.” Club celebrated h 1933-34, the its 21st birthday Birmingham Civic Symphony, with 75 guests at funded largely by the BMC, the Southern Club. played its fi rst concert season Th e newspaper at Phillips High School described it as a with Dorsey Whittington “glamorous” event At a BMC board meeting in 1934 were from left: Mrs. George conducting.Th e club not where a candle was lit C. Harris, fi rst vice president; Mrs. H.H.K. Jeff erson, president; only supported the symphony for each of the club’s Mrs. James Bowron, historian; and Mrs. James Westbrook, Young orchestra, but also organized nine past presidents. Musicians president. music programs in schools.

6 h In the 1940s-50s, BMC performances were those who wanted to improve their seating watched the considered the ultimate social occasions, calling for obits so they could make a timely exchange. In 1949, the elegant long gowns for the ladies and formal attire for the BMC off ered to reserve 850 gallery seats for African- men. Th e frontier town had come a long way! American concert goers, but inadequate response led to h In 1942, the Metropolitan Opera was included withdrawal of the off er. Th e seats were made available for the fi rst time on the Artist Concert Series, realizing a again to students. dream of the music club for the previous 25 years. Mrs. 1950-1979 Laura Jackson Davids was BMC president, and the new h Financial problems forced the Met to terminate its business manager was Marvin McDonald, who had been Birmingham performances, but the BMC and individual responsible for the Met’s season in . Soprano guarantors fi nanced its return. Th e BMC was said to and sang the leading roles be the only music club series in the country that the in a production staged at Municipal Auditorium exactly Met included in its tours. In May 1952, a gala season of as it was presented at the Metropolitan Opera House. opera presented Lily Pons in Lucia and Th is year’s series was described as the most brilliant era in in Butterfl y. When Lily Pons performed, everyone was BMC history. looking forward to seeing her Valentino-designed gown. h In the 1943-44 season, African-American contralto Th e audience gasped when a Birmingham-Southern co-ed Marian Anderson performed in Birmingham’s City arrived wearing a copy of the same dress! Auditorium 12 years before she broke the racial barrier at the Met in 1955. A local newspaper article stated that she was the fi rst female of her race to have achieved “such international success” in the concert world. h Another opera star, Vivian Della Chiesa, arrived in Birmingham after a three-night train ride from North Dakota with no sleep, no breakfast, and no keys to the trunks fi lled with her costumes. When she checked into the Tutwiler, she learned that her trunks had failed to arrive from New York. Having no keys became academic. She was a good-natured prima donna, however, and made the best of her plight. Her main interest was inquiring about University of Alabama football Coach Frank Th omas, who had been her neighbor years before in . Miss Chiesa was making her Birmingham debut in Gounod’s at the BMC’s invitation, according to columnist Lily May Caldwell. h In 1943, Glenn Nichols was the fi rst man to be elected president of the BMC in its 38-year history. During his fi rst term, he was called to duty in the U.S. At the Music Club’s Golden Anniversary in 1955 were (front row Army, and Vice President Clara Hayden served out from left) Mrs. Oliver Chalifoux, Glenn Nichols, Mrs. W. I. Grubb, his term. Back home by 1946, Mr. Nichols directed Mrs. Laura Jackson Lemmon and (back row from left) Mrs. Carol the initiative for BMC’s New Concert Series, a smaller Wilson Schoonover, Mrs. Burr Nabors, Miss Clara Hayden, Mrs. subscription course off ered in addition to the established Emma McCarthy, and Mrs. George Houston Davis. series of top concert artists. Each season consisted of four concerts by younger and less well-known artists. h In 1953, with Mrs. A. B. Haswell as president, h At its 1949 spring luncheon, the BMC honored BMC membership (season subscribers to the Artist the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, which had been Concert Series) numbered 3,000—remarkable for an revived after a hiatus during the war years. Th e club organization that started less than half a century before presented the orchestra with a $1,000 check. with only 38 members. h Season tickets to performances were jealously held h By 1956, the BMC was considered one of the most by the same people year after year. Legend has it that outstanding music clubs in the country and presented

7 an unsurpassed concert series, according to concert assist the club with its annual activities. Th e volunteer managers. group’s major project was to hold auditions and raise h A 1958 Birmingham Post-Herald social column funds to provide scholarships for outstanding young described the gowns worn by some of the prominent music students in Alabama colleges. women at the fi rst-night performance of the Metropolitan Opera’s Samson and Delilah. Among those singled out for red carpet attention were Mrs. Elton Stephens, Mrs. Hollis Bush, Mrs. James H. Evans, Mrs. Morris Bush, Mrs. William McWane, Mrs. Hugh Morrow, Mrs. Douglas Arant, and Mrs. Key Foster. h After 53 years of fostering the best in music, the BMC took an innovative step by launching its Broadway Th eatre League in 1958 to off er the best in stage productions. As an affi liate of the Broadway Th eatre Alliance of New York, the local league’s goal was to present fi ve big Broadway hits with outstanding casts at the Temple Th eatre. Season subscribers welcomed this addition to the city’s entertainment options. Mrs. D. Music Club President Walter Sechriest (center) Trotter Jones was BMC president when the project was with BMC Board Life Member Mrs. Douglas initiated. Arant (left) and Mrs. Sechriest (right). h Because racial tensions in the 1960s led some season subscribers to cancel their tickets, BMC h In February of 1965, a capacity house at Liberty National Auditorium heard a chamber music concert in memory of Birmingham Music Club founder Alice Halle Chalifoux. h In the 1969-70 season, gave the last performance at the Temple Th eater before it was demolished. Th e wrecking ball struck its fi rst blow only days after he sang. Mr. Hines quipped that he could tell his New York manager, “Once I literally brought the house down!” h In the 1970s, the BMC sponsored highly successful European trips coordinated by Shirley Trucks. By donating her commission to the club, she provided a substantial source of income for its endeavors. h On November 16, 1970, Th e Birmingham News reported: “Burglars took an undetermined amount of Among the 170 BMC members boarding a charter fl ight for three and a half weeks in Europe were money and a number of tickets to BMC shows when they (second from left) travelers Mrs. Francis Dwyer pried open money drawers …at the club’s ticket offi ce in and Mr. Dwyer, and Mrs. Larry Voight and Mr. E. E. Forbes and Son Piano Co.” Reparation was made to Voight. Mrs. Douglas Arant, BMC executive vice reserved ticket holders whose tickets were stolen, but the president (left) bids them farewell. BMC still had to pay the shows’ producers for the missing tickets, according to Box Offi ce Manager Jo Campbell. supporters solicited underwriters in the community to Locked drawers were pried open, and tickets were ensure that the season could be presented as planned. scattered everywhere. “And I just got a new desk,” wailed Th is eff ort ultimately proved unnecessary. Birmingham Mrs. Campbell. rose to the occasion. Season patronage was so strong h In the 1973-74 season, when ’s plane was that not a single underwriter had to provide the funds late, the audience waited patiently while he was whisked committed to make up anticipated losses. from the airport to the stage. He gave the performance of h In 1961, the BMC Junior Board was organized to his life in his tweed traveling suit. 8 h In 1973, the Junior Board brought famous chef Julia performers were duo-pianists Delores Hodgens and Sam Child and her husband Paul to the Birmingham Jeff erson Howard, former Bolshoi dancers Valentina Koslova and Civic Center for “Four Unique Cooking Lessons.” Th e Leonid Koslov, and soprano . popular scholarship benefi t was a sell-out. Sylvia Patrick h In 1980 and Rae Trimmier were event co-chairs. Th e cooking Rehearsing for the BMC Junior Board’s production, and l981, the enthusiasts who attended still treasure commemorative “Cabaret Capers,” on February 2, 1974, are (from Junior Board’s posters signed by Julia and Paul Child. left) Everette Holle, Mrs. Harry F. Bradford, Mrs. scholarship Richard Bruhn, and Amerigo Marino. h In 1974, fundraiser the Junior Board was the presented the Birmingham fundraiser Antiques Show, “Cabaret Capers,” held at the a spoof of past Birmingham- BMC events, Jeff erson Civic to a sold-out Center and crowd of 675 chaired by people. Chaired Susan Pitts. by Jeanne Subsequently, Bradford and this annual Carolyn Reed, event was turned over the successful TV Chef Julia Child (center) arrives in to the Junior League community event Birmingham to conduct a cooking school of Birmingham and was directed as a BMC Junior Board Fundraiser. became known as Th e by Cathy R. Meeting her at the airport are Diane Market. Gilmore and Marks Weatherford (left), president of the h In the 1982- sponsoring Junior Board, and Mrs. Vernon recognized 83 season, San Patrick (right), cooking school chairman. the Best of Francisco Birmingham-- Opera performed citizens prominent in the arts, education, and without costumes or community. scenery. Th e truck Arriving at the BJCC Concert Hall in h In 1975, the BMC moved its performances to the 1974 for the performance of the Soviet transporting them recently completed Birmingham-Jeff erson Civic Center Georgian dancers and Tbilisi Polyphonic to Birmingham Concert Hall. are Music Club members (from had broken down h When the Orchestra of played in left) Mrs. Clewis Trucks, Mr. Trucks, in Georgia. Th is Birmingham in 1976-77, it reunited Dr. Werner von and Mrs. James W. Rainer. mishap, though Braun and other Germans living in Huntsville with unfortunate, saved friends from their native land. the BMC money that otherwise would have been spent h Among the outstanding programs of 1978-79 were on such amenities. the Moscow Philharmonic and , who h 1985 was the fi rst year that the BMC Junior had the misfortune of splitting the back of his tuxedo coat Board co-hosted a fundraiser with the Alabama Music while taking a bow. Resourceful stagehands mended the Hall of Fame Board. Th is profi table event at Boutwell split with black electrical tape, and the unabashed tenor Auditorium benefi ted the club’s music scholarship continued his concert. program and the building fund for the Alabama Music Hall of Fame facility in Muscle Shoals. Junior Board 1980-1996 member Chris Browning is credited with securing h Th e BMC celebrated its 75th Diamond Jubilee, and the concessions contract for the event that provided all artistic performances moved to the Wright Concert a substantial sum for scholarships. Her co-chair was Hall at Samford University. Season subscribers were Marsha Drennen. Th e Junior Board also co-hosted the invited to the offi cial “birthday party,” Jubilee performance, Alabama Music Hall of Fame Induction Banquet and and dinner-dance on October 18, 1980. Jubilee Awards Show in 1987 and 1989. 9 h While president of the BMC Board from 1986- the daughter of the Music Study Circle’s founder, Alice 90, Penelope Cunningham produced a videotaped Halle Chalifoux, an accomplished pianist and harpist, documentary on the BMC’s history scripted by Barbara and Oliver Chalifoux, who majored in violin at the Sloan and Eric Olson. To garner Conservatory of Music in and critical community support, she later settled in Birmingham. He presented this excellent account of operated a music store called Th e the BMC’s early days to more than Music Dealer Company on 1917 4th 75 clubs in the Birmingham area. Avenue North. h On September 9, 1986, h In the 1990s, Glasnost Ballet a Birmingham News feature by of and other distinguished Elma Bell recognized Mrs. George international performers such as the Harris at age 95 for her 50 years of Black Watch from and the continuous and faithful membership Shalom Pops sparked season on the BMC Board, which she off erings. had served as president from Above: Addressing invitations to the BMC 1936-37. Walter Sechriest called Gala in 1980 are (from left) Mrs. James Y. h In 1991, the BMC hosted her “Mrs. Quorum” because she Cooper, Miss Adele Cohn, and Mrs. Vernon a benefi t cocktail-buff et chaired always attended the meetings. Mrs. Patrick. by Board Member Sally Douglas Harris recalled that when the BMC before the Coldstream Guards and Below: Lance Corp. Joe Jappy (left) of the the Queen’s Own Highlanders brought the great Jussi Bjoerling to Gordon Highlanders and Sgt. Cliff Parker Birmingham, the conductor said of the Grenadier Guards enjoy the “Scottish performance at UAB’s Bartow Bjoerling was singing so beautifully Event” held at the home of Dr. and Mrs. Arena. he forgot to conduct the orchestra Th omas Lamkin before their performance in h Th e BMC never ceased to and just stood there listening. She the 1987 season. cater to the whims of its visiting also remembered chairing beautiful performers. When Met soprano spring luncheons for the BMC and performed in the the buckets of fl owers members 1993-94 season, she requested brought from their gardens for table that she be met at the Birmingham decorations. Among the gardeners Airport in a Lincoln Town Car. providing fl owers were Mrs. Robert BMC Board member Dorothy Jemison, Mrs. Ross Smith, and Mrs. Porter and her husband, Dr. John Hill Ferguson. Th e luncheons were Porter, not only provided their own held at the Birmingham Country car for the specifi ed transportation, Club, Southern Club, and Tutwiler but further delighted the diva with Hotel. a bouquet of roses upon her arrival. h In 1987, the BMC Board In the 1994-95 season, BMC hosted a cocktail-buff et fundraiser Board President Sabert Oglesby chaired by Anne Lamkin before the sold-out season performance of and his wife Carolyn made special Th e Grenadier Guards and Gordon arrangements to host Isaac Stern for Highlanders. Th e fundraiser was a late-night, after-concert dinner at held at Boutwell Auditorium’s Arman’s. Th ey had been told that he Exhibition Hall. liked to eat a two-inch thick steak h An initiative to substantially increase season after performing, so Arman was prepared to oblige him at subscribers began, and in 1988 the Guild was organized a time long past the usual hour for dining. To everyone’s as a volunteer support group with 200 charter members. surprise, the celebrated violinist ordered only appetizers, h In 1989, the Trustees of the BMC honored Alice not steak. Th e congenial dinner, which also included the Chalifoux (Mrs. James H. Rideout) at a luncheon at Jim Nelsons, lasted until after 1 a.m. Years later, when Th e Club on January 3. Considered the Grande Dame the Oglesbys’ son Donald met Stern, he remembered of the harp, she was principal harpist of the the Birmingham hospitality and signed a copy of his Orchestra for 43 years before retiring in 1974. She was autobiography to be forwarded to his gracious hosts.

10 h 1994 is remembered as the year the Guild almost extraordinary success for several years. Th e partnership doubled its membership, taking in 161 new members brought to the Alabama Th eater fi ve popular programs: during the presidency of Elouise Williams. with the Orchestra, h From 1989-2003, the Guild sponsored an annual , jazz musician Dr. Billy Taylor, Th ree Mo’ fashion show and luncheon to benefi t the BMC. Th ese , and Th ree Other Tenors. Marsalis remarked that popular events were held at Th e Club until 1995 and his Birmingham audience was more diverse than any he thereafter at Birmingham Country Club. Each year, had encountered anywhere in the world. Miss Alabama was a special guest and model. Th e h In 2001, performances moved to the Alys Stephens luncheon-fashion shows took place in the spring and Center of the University of Alabama at Birmingham recognized community leaders prominent in the arts. (UAB), and the Stephens Center box offi ce took over Honorees included Cecil Roberts, Elton B. Stephens, coordination of ticket sales, advertising, and program Emil Hess, Winton Blount, James R. Nelson, Hugh publication for the concerts. Previously this had been the Th omas, Cecil Whitmire, Oliver Roosevelt, Jr., Mrs. responsibility of the BMC offi ce. Th is alliance with the Russell M. Cunningham, Jr., Dr. Benjamin Middaugh, Stephens Center contributes to the continued success of and the Guild’s past presidents. Chairmen over the years the BMC as it moves into its second century. were Janette Beaumont, Minor, Alice Brown, Rae h In 2003, the BMC executive director and Trimmier, Mary Ann Jones, Linda Askins, Adele Scielzo, administration joined the Birmingham Music Cooperative Shirley Evans, Diane Gay, Anna Keith, Gloria Spruill, as a positive move toward cost eff ectiveness, effi ciency, and Joan Parker, Anne Bryson, Jean Hendrickson, Nan viability in a competitive environment. Teninbaum, and Dianne Walters. h Highly successful, formal evening events replaced 1996-2006 the luncheon/fashion shows as fundraisers. Th ese h During Cherie Woods’ administration as the events brought in substantial sums for the Guild’s music club’s executive director, the BMC and the Alabama scholarship Jazz Hall of Fame formed a partnership to bring jazz fund and performers and productions with diverse audience featured appeal to Birmingham. Walter Jackson represented selected the Jazz Hall of Fame in this alliance, which was an scholarship winners as guest performing artists.

Gathering by the fi replace to toast Birmingham Music Club’s 100th anniversary are (from left) BMC Guild’s Co-President Virginia McDorman, Penelope Cunningham, Miss Alabama Alexa Jones, Marti Buck and Frank Buck. Frances and George Wheelock Th e fi rst such event, “Martinis, , and Music,” co-chaired by Dianne Walters and Carolyn Reich, was held in February 2004. In January 2005, “A Little Night Music” was chaired by Lochrane Coleman Smith and Linda Askins. Both events were Country Club. In December 2005, Musicians Lisa Davis and Stan Putnam (seated) held at Vestavia entertain at the Birmingham Music Club Guild’s Birmingham Country Club was the setting for the BMC’s new member coff ee May 1997. Standing (from 100th Anniversary Celebration, “Take Note,” hosted by left) are hostess Mary Steiner, Anne Lamkin and the Guild. Co-chairs were Susan Tipler and President Linda Askins. Sandra Haley. 11 h In April 2006, the annual scholarship luncheon h Dr. Penelope Cunningham’s contributions to chaired by Anne Lamkin at Mountain Brook Club education and the arts were recognized by a resolution was another beautiful birthday celebration for the from the Birmingham City Council on the occasion of her BMC. Highlighting the event were performances by 90th birthday celebration in May 2006 at Birmingham- the extraordinarily talented scholarship recipients and Southern College, her alma mater. honorees—Patrick Scott, David Talley IV, Cahill Smith, h In the Birmingham News on May 21, 2006, a Natalie Dixon, Andrew Duren, Carrie Edwards, Maggie feature article by music and arts critic Michael Huebner Malone, Brad Whitfi eld, Andre Chiang, and Chace summarized the BMC’s impact on performing arts in Garner. the city over the past 100 years. He called the BMC Birmingham’s “…most steadfast arts steward, fi lling cultural gaps, sparking new organizations, and giving the city the best the world has to off er in classical arts for a century.”

Janis Zeanah, Faye Tynes Dick, and Dr. Marion Dick at “Take Note.”

h For its centennial season, the BMC’s Classically Inclined Series presented From the Top with Christopher O’Riley, pianist Emanuel Ax, soprano Angela Brown, guitarist Christopher Parkening, and the Emerson String Quartet. Th e price for season ticket subscriptions had increased over the years from $50 in Among those attending the November 2005 Guild meeting are (from 1988-89 to prices ranging from $120 to $240 in 2005-06. left) Dottie Kent, Co-President Jessie Bean, previous scholarship winner Dr. Cynthia Perry Jones, hostess Elouise Williams, and Beth Campbell.

Scholarship winners from the 2006 BMC Guild auditions were honored at a luncheon April 7, 2006 at Mountain Brook Club. Seated (from left) are Andrew Duren, Natalie Dixon, and Cahill Smith. Standing (from left) are Chase Garner, Patrick Scott, Maggie Malone, Brad Whitfi eld, and Andre Chiang. Not pictured are David Talley IV and Carrie Edwards.

12 Th e Birmingham Music Club Concert Series 1908 - 2007 Mr. & Mrs. Leon Cole, 1908-1915 and soprano 1920-1925 1908-09 (fi rst ticketed concert) Germaine Schnitzer, pianist 1920-21 Frank Croxton, Chorus of the Music Study Club Th e Scotti Opera Co. Eleanor Stark Stanley, Frank Gittelson, violinist Margaret Romaine, Met soprano accompanist Mrs. William Gussen, pianist Edna Th omas, mezzo - soprano Cecil Fannine, baritone 1909-10 (not presented by the Edgell Adams, pianist Orchestra Music Club, but supported by its Frederick Gunster, tenor members) 1915-1920 Mme. Schuman-Heinck Ferruccio Busoni Percy Grainger, pianist N.Y. Symphony, w/Walter 1915-16 Damrosch, conductor Fritz Kreisler, violinist 1921-22 Ernest Hutcheson, pianist Scotti Opera Co. (Tos c a ) 1910-11 Th e Fuller Sisters, folk songs Josef Lhevinne Louise Homer, Met contralto Mrs. William Gussen, pianist Isadora Duncan & her Dancers Jenny Dufau, soprano 1911-12 George Copeland, pianist Efram Zimbalist, violinist 1916-17 1922-23 Anna Otten, violinist Diaghilev’s Ballet Russe w/ Claire Dux, Chicago Opera Co., Nijinsky soprano 1912-13 Tilly Koenen, contralto Francis Macmillan, violinist Pasmore Trio Choral Concert Alberto Salvi, harpist Leopold Godowsky, pianist Barrere Ensemble Eugene Vsaye, violinist Louis Graveure, baritone 1917-18 Harold Bauer, pianist 1913-14 John Powell St. Louis Symphony Phillip Memoli’s Anna Case, Met soprano La San Carlos Grand Opera Band Trio de Lutece w/Georges (, Madame Butterfl y, Faust, Paulo Gruppe, cellist Barrere, fl utist and ) Ignace Paderewski, Carlos Salzedo, harpist 1923-24 pianist Paul Kefer, cellist Duncan Dancers Ignace Wilhelm Bachaus, Paulist Choristers of Chicago Paderewski, pianist Alberto Salvi, harpist 1913-14 BMC St. Louis Symphony Season , 1918-19 violinist Bianca Randall Sigrid Onegin, Met contralto Miller-Gunster Erika Morini, violinist 1914-15 Ignace Paderewski, pianist Ignaz Friedin, pianist Fritz Th e Flonzaley Quartet 1924-25 Kreisler, Th e Paris Orchestra St. Louis Symphony violinist Alma , contralto Rose Fabian, Minneapolis Symphony violinist 1919-20 Albert Spalding, violinist Alma Beck, Maggie Teyte, soprano Claire Dux, soprano Met Eddy Brown, violinist Joseph Hofmann, pianist contralto Sol Marcossen, violinist Reginald Werrenrath, baritone Fritz Kreisler, 1914-15 Claudia Anna Case, Met soprano BMC Season Weaver, Madam Novaes pianist Cornelius van Vliet, cellist 13 1925-1930 1930-1935 1935-1940 1925-26 1930-31 1935-36 Russian Symphonic Choir Band St. Louis Symphony Dusolini Giannini, soprano Jose Iturbi Katherine Meisle, contralto Minneapolis Symphony Dalies Frantz, pianist Mischa Levitzski, pianist Cornelius van Vliet, cellist Choir Boys , Met tenor Barrere Little Symphony Nelson Eddy, baritone Ignace Paderewski, pianist , violinist 1926-27 St. Louis Symphony Tipica Mexican Orchestra 1931-32 Ruth Slenczynski, child pianist E. Robert Schmitz, pianist Don Cossack Russian Male Philadelphia Symphony, Leopold Richard Crooks, tenor Chorus Stokowski, conductor Luella Mellus, soprano , Met soprano Louis Graveure, Met baritone Albert Spalding, violinist 1936-37 Minneapolis Symphony , violinist 1927-28 Elizabeth Jordan , Met soprano Mary Fabian, soprano Robert Golsand Rudolph Serkin, pianist Russian Symphonic Choir , Met baritone Flonzaley String Quartet 1932-33 St. Louis Symphony Maier & Pattison, duo-pianists Lily Pons, Met Julia Claussen, contralto Ernest Hutcheson, pianist 1937-38 Richard Vonelli, Met baritone Elizabeth Rethberg, Met soprano 1928-29 NY String Quartet , Met baritone Salzedo Harp Ensemble Minneapolis Salzburg Opera Company Myra Hess, pianist Symphony Dorsey Whittington, pianist English Singers Lawrence Tibbett, , cellist Benjamin Gigli, Met tenor Met baritone St. Louis Symphony 1929-30 , Met mezzo- 1933-34 soprano Hilda Burke, Chicago Opera Sergei Rachmaninoff Company Vienna Choir Boys 1938-39 Cameron McLean, baritone Sergei Rachmaninoff , 1933-34 BMC Season Lucrezia Bori, Met Lily Pons, Met coloratura soprano Mischa Livistsky, pianist soprano Eudice Shapiro, violinist Sigrid Onegin, Met contralto Minneapolis Symphony w/ , tenor Minneapolis Symphony Eugene Ormandy Josef Hofmann, pianist Fritz Kreisler St. Louis Symphony Nelson Eddy Grace Moore, Met soprano 1934-35 1939-40 John Charles Th omas, Donald Dickson, baritone Met baritone Marjorie Lawrence, Met soprano Vladimir Robert Virovai, violinist Rose Teentoni, Horowitz, 1934- soprano and Ottaker 35 BMC Season Guiomar Novaes, pianist Cadek, violinist Philadelphia Symphony w/ Minneapolis Symphony w/ Eugene Ormandy Eugene Ormandy Ballet Russe de Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo Lily Pons, 1932-33 BMC Season , pianist 14 1944-45 1940-1945 Metropolitan Opera (La 1940-41 Traviata) Joseph Szigeti, violinist Ezio Pinza, Met baritone Richard Crooks, Met tenor Helen Jepson, Met soprano, Martha Lipton, Met contralto & , Met Minneapolis Symphony, Dimitri tenor Mitropoulos, conductor Rudolf Serkin, pianist Vladimir Horowitz, pianist , violinist 1941-42 , Met soprano Sergei Rachmaninoff Ballet Th eatre Mme. Zino Francescatti, violinist Minneapolis Symphony Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo Vladimir Horowitz Philadelphia Orchestra Lawrence Tibbett, Met baritone 1945-1950 Helen Traubel, Met soprano Metropolitan Opera (La Traviata) 1945-46 Marian Anderson, contralto Charles Wagner Opera Irene Jordan, 1948-49 BMC Season () 1942-43 Fritz Kreisler, violinist Vladimir Horowitz, pianist John Charles Th omas, Met Pittsburgh Symphony Minneapolis Symphony baritone Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo Rudolf Serkin & Adolf Busch, Metropolitan Opera (La Boheme) Opera (La Boheme) violinist & pianist Jascha Heifetz, violinist Luboshutz & Nemenoff , duo- William Kapell, pianist Ballet Th eatre pianists Gordon String Quartet Philadelphia Orchestra Draper and Adler, dancer & Jennie Tourel, Met mezzo-soprano Vladimir Horowitz, pianist harmonica Minneapolis Symphony Cincinnati Symphony 1948-49 Helen Traubel, Met soprano Lily Pons, Met coloratura soprano 1946-47 Charles Wagner Opera Company 1943-44 Metropolitan Opera (Il Trovatore) (Romeo and Juliet) Richard Crooks, Met tenor James Melton, Met tenor Ferrucio Tagliavini, Met tenor Bidu Sayao, Met soprano Alicia Markova & Anton Dolin, Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo Metropolitan Opera (Faust) dance First Piano Quartet Fritz Kreisler, violinist Lily Pons, Met coloratura soprano Pittsburgh Symphony Licia Albanese, Met soprano Pittsburgh Symphony Zino Francescatti, violinist Vladimir Horowitz, pianist Artur Rubenstein, pianist New York Philharmonic Orchestra Don Cossack Russian Male New York Philharmonic Orchestra Irene Jordan, Met soprano Chorus Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra 1947-48 1949-50 Artur Rubenstein, pianist Charles Wagner Opera and I Ballet Th eatre (Madame Butterfl y) Rudolph Serkin, pianist Marian Anderson, contralto Helen Traubel, Met soprano Chorale Jeanette McDonald Nathan Milstein, violinist Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and his Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo Cincinnati Symphony Concert Orchestra John Charles Th omas, baritone , Met soprano Oscar Levant, pianist Philadelphia Symphony Nelson Eddy

15 John Brown’s Body w/ Tyrone Power, Black Watch Regiment 1950-1955 Judith Anderson, Raymond , Met dramatic 1950-51 Massey (drama w/music) soprano Sadler’s Wells Th eatre Ballet New York Philharmonic Pittsburgh Symphony Th e Royal Philharmonic of Vladimir Horowitz, pianist Gina Bachauer, pianist Walter Geiseking, pianist NBC Opera (Traviata) Alexander Brailowsky, pianist Metropolitan Opera (La Boheme Southern Regional Ballet Festival Tossy Spivakovsky, violinist and La Traviata) (six companies) Robert Shaw Chorale 1954-55 Metropolitan Opera (Samson and James Melton, Met tenor Delilah) , Met soprano Blanche Th ebom, Met mezzo- No Time for Sergeants Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra soprano of 1958-59 Houston Symphony London’s Festival Ballet Maria Callas, Efrem Kurtz w/Oscar Levant Met dramatic Wilhelm Backhaus, pianist Byron Janis, pianist soprano , Met baritone & Eileen Farrell, Met dramatic (opened her Jan Peerce, Met tenor soprano fi rst U.S. tour Philadelphia Symphony w/ Mia Slavenska and her Ballet in B’ham Eugene Ormandy Variante w/ Atlanta Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo London String Quartet Orchestra) Metropolitan Opera (Faust and Danish Maria Callas, 1958- 1951-52 Tos c a ) National 59 BMC Season Rise Stevens, Met mezzo -soprano Orchestra , violinist 1955-1960 Grenadier Guards Leonard Warren, Met baritone 1955-56 Robert Shaw Chorale Sadler’s Wells Th eatre Ballet (50th Anniversary) Minneapolis Orchestra Pittsburgh Symphony Boston Symphony Glen Gould, pianist Metropolitan Opera Myra Hess, pianist Metropolitan Opera (Tos c a and ) (Die Fledermaus) Ballet Th eatre An evening with Philadelphia Orchestra 1952-53 Auntie Mame Danish Orchestra Zino Francescatti, violinist Diary of Anne Frank Nathan Milstein, violinist Ballets Espagnoles Romanoff & Juliet w/ Robert Shaw Chorale Robert Shaw Chorale Lil Abner Solomon, pianist Metropolitan Opera (Marriage of Ballet Th eatre Figaro and Rigoletto) 1959-60 Bidu Sayau & Jan Peerce (Met stars 1956-57 Boris Goldovsky Th eater replaced by Jerome Hines) (Rigoletto) National Swedish Chorus Philadelphia Orchestra , Met soprano Metropolitan Opera (Aida and Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo David Oistrach, violinist ) Boston Pops w/Arthur Fiedler Canadian National Ballet David Gibson, pianist Artur Rubenstein, pianist Gina Bachauer, pianist 1953-54 Jose Greco and Company Ruth Page Chicago Opera Ballet Agnes DeMille Dance Th eatre Pittsburgh Symphony (Merry Widow and Camille) Erika Morini, violinist Lois Marshall, soprano Pittsburgh Symphony Sadler’s Wells Ballet Th eatre (Met cancelled its tour) Andrea Chenier Symphony w/Irene Jordan, Metropolitan Opera soloist 1957-58 (Madame Butterfl y) American Ballet Th eatre My Fair Lady 16 Th e Dark at the Top of the Stairs 1962-63 Royal Winnipeg Ballet Two for the Seesaw Anna Moff o, Met soprano Dear Liar (substituting for Eleanor & Malcolm Look Homeward, Angel Steber) Frager, duo-pianists Odd Man I Am w/Ann Sheridan Leon Fleischer, pianist Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra Nathan Milstein,violinist Robert Shaw Chorale and Orchestra 1960-1965 National Ballet of Canada 1960-61 Vienna Choir Boys 1966-67 Detroit Symphony New York Philharmonic w/ Ballet Folklorico Minneapolis Symphony Jeanmarie Darre, pianist Leonard Bernstein Gala Branko Krasmonivich Vronsky and Babin, duo-pianists Chorus of Yugoslavia Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Coldstream Guards Westminster Choir Royal Ballet of London w/ Margot Sandor Konya Fonteyn Jim Nabors w/B’ham Symphony Van Cliburn, pianist 1967-68 Jerome Hines, Met basso Czech Philharmonic Henry Szeryng, violinist Welsh Guards Band & Scots Cleveland Symphony w/ harpist Guards Dancers Alice Chalifoux (daughter of American Ballet Th eatre BMC founder) John Browning, pianist Betty Jo Harmon, soprano Nell Rankin, 1963-64 Th e Romeros, Spanish guitarists Once Upon a Mattress w/Imogene BMC Season Irene Jordan replaced Anna Moff o Coca & Edward Horton Fiorello 1963-64 1968-69 Th e Music Man w/ Forrest Tucker Ballet Folklorico of Mexico , Met soprano w/ Th e Pleasure of Your Company Augustin Anievas, pianist B’ham Symphony J.B. w/ John Carradine Norman Luboff Choir Hague Philharmonic in concert Nell Rankin, Met mezzo-soprano Montserrat Caballe, soprano & American Ballet Th eatre Bernabe Marti, tenor 1961-62 Pittsburgh Symphony Vladimir Ashkenazy, pianist Pirates of Penzance produced by Birgit Nilsson, Met soprano Fiddler on the Roof (national Tyrone Guthrie 1964-65 Broadway tour) Irene Jordan (Met soprano) w/ Zizi Jeanmarie Roland Petit Ballet Stars of Lawrence Welk Show B’ham Symphony de Paris Roger Wagner Chorale Raduga Dancers (fi rst Soviet Bayanihan Philippine Dance Co. troupe to dance in the South) Arthur Gold & Robert Fizdale, Jose Iturbi, pianist duo-pianists , Met tenor Boston Pops w/ Arthur Fiedler Indianapolis Symphony Royal Welsh Men’s Choir Byron Janis, pianist Metropolitan Opera (Martha and 1960-1965 La Traviata) 1965-66 William Alton, pianist Dorothy Kirsten, Met soprano, & Julliard String Quartet Frank Guarrer, Met baritone Jerome Hines, 1969-70 BMC Season 17 1969-70 , Met soprano Osipov Balalaika Orchestra Hodgens and Howard, duo- , pianist pianists Van Cliburn, pianist Garrick Ohlsson, pianist Jerome Hines, Met basso National Orchestra of Houston Symphony Orchestra Richard Tucker, Met tenor w/ 1972-73 1970-1975 National Ballet of Canada w/ Rudolf Nureyev (La Sylphide 1970-71 & Swan Lake) – 2 nights Eden and Tamir, duo-pianists Beryozka Dance Company Bayanihan Dance Co. of the Minoru Nojima, pianist Marilyn Horn, Met soprano Philippines Delores Hodgens and Sam Howard, National Ballet of Washington Joseph Kalichstein, pianist 1971-72 BMC Season Liberace (Cinderella) Gabriella Tucci, Met soprano , soprano Obernkirchen Children’s Choir Alabama Ballet w/Natalia 1973-74 Beverly Sills, Met soprano Makarova (replaced American Alvin Ailey City Center Dance Ballet Th eatre) Agnes DeMille’s Dance Th eater Th eatre Artur Rubenstein, pianist Stephen Bishop, pianist Christina Ortiz Minnesota Orchestra Symphony Orchestra Vienna Choir Boys Rotterdam Philharmonic 1971-72 National Ballet of Washington National Ballet of Washington (Romeo and Juliet) 1975-1980 w/Margot Fonteyn (Sleeping Isaac Stern, violinist 1975-76 Beauty) , Met soprano Chinese Acrobats 1974-75 (fi rst year in BJCC) Jorge Bolst, pianist Soviet Georgian Dancers & Tbilisi Moscow State Symphony Polyphonic Choir Marcel Marceau, mime Royal Swedish Ballet Canadian Opera Company (La in Hell w/Ricardo Boheme) Montalban and Myrna Loy Evangelos and Liza, classical guitarists Royal Winnipeg Ballet (Rodeo) Mazowsze (100 Polish dancers, singers & instrumentalists) Opera Quartette 1976-77 Charles Ives Show Vladimir Viardo, cancelled Richard Tucker, 1971-72 , Met soprano BMC Season B’ham Civic Chorus ( Sing-In) Osipov Balalaika Orchestra, Bolshoi Ballet and opera stars St. Hedwign’s Cathedral Choir & Luciano Pavarotti, 1978-79 BMC Season 18 Domkapelle Orchestra of Berlin 1979-80 Beverly Hoch, soprano, Daniel Mistislav Rostropovich, cellist H.M.S. Pinafore Phillips, violinist & Margo Waverly Consort Rosalyn Tureck, pianist Garrett, pianist Houston Ballet Justino Diaz, bass Hungarian State Folk Ensemble Philadelphia Orchestra w/Eugene Igor Oistrakh, violinist Richard Cass, pianist Ormandy (last tour before Ballet West (Coppelia) Th e Washington Ballet retirement) Our Lady’s Choral Society of Th e Welsh Choir of Cardiff 1977-78 Dublin 1984-85 Eleanor Bergquist, soprano , Met soprano Western Opera (La Cenerentola) & jazz sextet 1980-1985 Th e Boston Camerata, A Medieval , pianist Christmas National Ballet of Flanders 1980-81 Fr. Sean Brett Duggan, pianist , Eugene (75th Anniversary) (Bach Winner) Zukerman and Carlos Bonell, Misha and Cipa Dichter, duo- Mozowsze Dancers violinist/, fl utist and pianists New York City Opera (Rigoletto) guitarist Hodges and Howard, duo-pianists Marcel Marceau, mime Roger Wagner Chorale Paul Schenly, pianist Philharmonia Hungarica Les Grands Ballets Canadiens 1985-1990 Th e American Symphony Cornell MacNeil (cancelled) 1985-86 Orchestra (cancelled) National Folk Ballet of Yugoslavia Th e Pennsylvania Ballet Ballet Folklorico Nacional de NY City Opera National John Ogdon, pianist Mexico Company Czech Philharmonic Orchestra 1978-79 Fr. Sean Brett Duggan, pianist Ransom Wilson’s Wind Quartet 1981-82 (fi rst year at (Benedictine monk) Luciano Pavarotti, Met tenor Samford) I Solisti de Zagreb Chamber , pianist Orchestra Th e Vienna Choir Boys Peter Van Derick, baritone Coldstream Guards; Royal Scot Moscow Philharmonic Dragoon Guards Elly Ameling, soprano 1986-87 Th e Westminster Choir Philadelphia Orchestra Christopher Sager, pianist Paul Schenly, pianist Eliot Feld Ballet Orpheus Chamber Orchestra Bach International Competition George Marsh, violinist (Bach Winner winner) 1982-83 NY City Opera National Co. (Madama Butterfl y) Western Opera Co. (Rigoletto) Pirin, Bulgarian National Folk 1987-88 Ensemble Vienna Choir Boys Vienna Choir Boys Grenadier Guards & Gordon Mummenschanz Highlanders Strasbourg Philharmonic Julliard String Quartet Bach International Competition NY City Opera National Co. , 1978-79 Winner (Barber of Seville) BMC Season 1983-84 Stephen Francis Th omas, cellist (Bach winner) Michel Block Royal Regiments on Parade: Scots Itzhak Perlman, violinist Guards/Th e Black Watch Th e Bamberg Symphony 19 1988-89 1980-81Neil Rutman, pianistp , Met baritone Misha and CipaTwo Dichter, StudenStudent Programs Kremlin Chamber Orchestra Roger Williams1978-79s Th e Prague Symphonyh duo-pianistsTh e Tallis Scholars Isaac Stern/Yefi m Bronfman Ransom Wilson’s Wind Ensemblebl for f Early E lly Music MMusi of HodgesNew andLeontyneLeont Howard,yne Price,P Met soprano Orchestra Philharmonique de Quartet duo-pianistsNYNY City Opera National Co. Monte Carlo, James DePriest, LucianoYork Pavarotti, ( Daniel andMetdhLd thetenor LLionso s) Paul Schenly, pianist NY Cityy OperaOpera NationalNatpional Danish NationalNNaa Radio Symphony conductor Companyppanyany ( aLLa Choira TraviataTraviat Boysa) Les Grands Balletsw/Bellaw/Bel David Dividovich, Porgy and Bess, special performance VladimerdimerMoscow Viardo Philharmonic Canadienspianistp Elly Ameling, soprano Cornell MacNeil 1995-2000 1989-9099-90Philadelphia-90 Orchestra Th e Black WatchEliot Feld Ballet 1995-96 Firstst InternationaltiMichel l GlGlasnGlasnostG Block Ballet Itzhak Perlman, violinist BBC Orchestra from London TourT w/Najda Salerno-Sonnenberg, Chamber Orchestrahhestra1979estra ofo 80f CCannesa violinist Cote D’Azur’A’Azurzur w/Ransomww/Ranso/Ransom Frederica von Stade, Met mezzo- WilsonWRosalynilson Tureck, pianist soprano NY Cityyp JiDibOpera National CCo. Katia & Marielle LaBeque, duo- (LaIgor Boheme Oistrakh,) violinist Ballet West (Coppelia) pianists Our Lady’s Choral Society of Black Light Th eatre of Prague

1990-19951990 19951995ublin (Peter Pan), Eleanor Bergquist, soprano Bolshoi Ballet 1990-91 NY City Opera National Co. Shanghai Acrobats and Warriors (La Traviata) of the Peking Opera Chet Akins w/Birmingham Th e Slovak Chamber Orchestra Metropolitan Orchestra, Henry Ballet Francais de Nancy Panion, conductor Christopher Parkening, guitarist 1996-97 Th e Shalom Israeli Pops Th omas Hampson, Met baritone Orchestra Bolshoi Symphony, Alexander NY City Opera National Co. Alvarez, conductor Coldstream Guards & the Queen’s Own (Marriage of Figaro) Riverside, Calif. Light Opera Highlanders 1991-92 BMC Season 1991-92 Company (H.M.S. Pinafore) Coldstream Guards & Moscow Festival Ballet (Carmen) the Queen’s Highlanders 1993-94 NYC Opera (La Boheme) Danny Davis and the Nashville NY Ensemble for Early Music Bolshoi Symphony w/Alexander Brass and Boots Randolph (Herod and the Innocents) Rudin Yakety Sax with Birmingham , soprano Th e Canadian Brass Metropolitan Orchestra Black Light Th eatre of Prague Th e Hambro Quartet of Pianists (Alice in Wonderland) NY City Opera National Co. 1997-98 NY City Opera National Co. (Madama Butterfl y), Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra () Royal Winnipeg Ballet Opera Nazionale Italiana with Kathleen Battle, Met soprano the Budapest State Opera 1992-93 Orchestra Th e Incomparable Red Stars, 1994-95 Washington Ballet (Hansel and Russian Red Army Band, Chorus Principal Dancers of the NY City Gretel) and Dancers Ballet Stars of the Kirov Ballet Opera Nationale Italiana Chanticleer Regimental Bank of the Scots 20 Guards Pipes, Drums & Orquestra de Sao Paulo Angela Brown, Met soprano Highland Dancers of the Black Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra Christopher Parkening, guitarist Watch Emerson String Quartet 2003-04 1998-1999 Guitar Quartet 2006-2007 St. Petersburg State Symphony Katia and Marielle LaBeque, Moscow State Symphony Orchestra pianists Orchestra Stewart Goodyear, pianist New York Festival of Song , mezzo-soprano London City Opera (Die Pilsen Philharmonic w/Janice Hilary Hahn, violinist Fledermaus) Martin Awadegin Pratt, pianist Corey Serovek, violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Russian National Ballet violinist, & Anne-Marie (Swan Lake) McDermott, pianist 1999-2000 2004-05 Opera Gala, Moscow State Radio Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra Don Cossacks of Rostov Th e Canadian Brass , violinist Andre Watts , Teatro Lirico d’Europa Academy of St. Martin in the Ballet de L’Opera de Bordeau, A Fields Chamber Ensemble Tribute to Diaghilev Isabel Bayrakdarian, soprano 2000-2007 2005-06 From the Top, featuring Christopher O’Riley 2000-01 Roger Williams, 1988-89 BMC Season Emanuel Ax, pianist Kathleen Battle, Met soprano Neil Rutman, pianist London City Opera (Carmen) Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra Moscow Festival Ballet (Giselle) 2001-02 Mark O’Connor, violinist & Isaac Stern/Yefi m Metamorphosen Chamber Bronfman 1994-95 Orchestra BMC Season Th e Orpheus Chamber Orchestra Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir & Tallin Chamber Orchestra Chanticleer Alon Goldstein, pianist

2002-03 Kathleen Battle, Jean Yves Th ibaudet, pianist 2001-01 BMC Denyce Graves, Met mezzo - Season soprano

21 APPENDIX

Music Study Circle Charter Members – 1906 Founders Mrs. Oliver Chalifoux Mrs. Richard F. Johnston Mrs. Julia Neely Finch Mrs. Laura Jackson Davids Offi cers Mrs. Oliver Chalifoux, President Mrs. David Roberts, Vice President Mrs. W. M. Jordan, Secretary Mrs. L. J. Davids, Treasurer Mrs. Julia Neely Finch, Director Members Mrs. Oliver Chalifoux Mrs. Bruce Harris Mrs. Julia Neely Finch Mrs. Solon Jacobs Mrs. Lillie Miles Johnston Mrs. Houston Johnston Mrs. Laura Jackson Davids Mrs. W. M. Jordan Mrs. Jack Adams Mrs. E. C. Kingsberry Mrs. J. V. Allen Mrs. Harriett W. O’Neill Mrs. O. D. Atkins Miss Annie Parker Mrs. Hammond Brown Mrs. C. T. Randall Mrs. J. C. Carmichael Mrs. David Roberts Miss Julia Chenoweth Miss Nellie Sloss Mrs. Paul Cocke Mrs. R. I. Stone Mrs. E. G. Cole Mrs. J. M. Stillwell Mrs. J. T. Coulbourn Mrs. W. L. Sims Mrs. Hoyt Dobbs Miss Amy Ward Miss Alice Fallon Mrs. W. M. Mayes Mrs. John Fletcher Mrs. W. M. Walker Miss Mamie Fogarty Mrs. Turner Weakley Mrs. J. E. Frazier Mrs. R. C. Woodson Miss Louise Hall Mrs. J. A. Yates

22 Th e Birmingham Music Club Board Past Presidents

Mrs. Oliver Chalifoux 1905-1907 Mrs. A. B. Haswell 1952-1954 Mrs. W. S. Lovell 1907-1908 Mrs. William I. Grubb, Jr. 1954-1956 Mrs. R. F. Johnston 1908-1910 Mrs. Hollis Bush 1956-1958 Mrs. Victor Hanson 1910-1913 Mrs. Trotter Jones 1958-1960 Mrs. Charles J. Sharp 1913-1914 (Mrs. Gordon C. Welch) Mrs. George H. Davis 1914-1918 Mrs. John A. Seals 1960-1962 Mrs. Charles J. Sharp 1918-1919 Mr. Everett Pittman 1962-1964 Mrs. Victor Hanson 1919-1920 Mrs. Frank Gaff ord 1964-1966 Mrs. George H. Davis 1920-1922 Mrs. Harry B. Rust 1966-1968 Mrs. E. T. Rice 1922-1924 Mr. Stuart Mims 1968-1970 Mrs. E. G. Chandler 1924-1925 Mr. William A. Price 1970-1972 Miss Emma McCarthy 1925-1928 Mr. Walter Sechriest, Jr. 1972-1976 Mrs. George H. Davis 1928-1929 Mr. Joseph Schreiber 1976-1978 Mrs. R. C. Woodson 1929-1931 Mr. Carl Martin Hames 1978-1981 Mrs. John Wallace Luke 1931-1933 Dr. H. Edward Tibbs 1981-1986 Mrs. H. H. K. Jeff erson 1933-1936 Mrs. R. Cunningham, Jr. 1986-1990 Mrs. George C. Harris 1936-1937 Mrs. David Roberts III 1990-1990 Mrs. George H. Davis 1937-1939 Dr. Th omas J. Gibbs, Jr. 1990-1992 Mrs. Laura J. Davids 1939-1942 Ms. Martha Moore Sykes 1992-1994 Mr. Glenn Nichols, Jr. 1942-1943 Mr. Sabert Oglesby 1994-1998 Miss Clara Hayden 1943-1946 Mr. James R. Nelson 1998-2000 Mrs. E. D. Lemay 1946-1948 Mr. Th ad G. Long 2000-2003 (Mrs. Heinz V. Menking) Mr. Philippe Lathrop 2003-2006 Mrs. Burr Nabors 1948-1952 Mr. Wyatt R. Haskell 2006-

23 Th e Guild of Th e Birmingham Music Club Founding Members 1988 Penelope Prewitt Cunningham, Founder Jo Campbell and Toula Fulford, Organizers

Jeanne Bradford Mary Helen McCoy Barbara Breard Sylvia Patrick Ellen Cunningham Anne Rainer Jan Elliot Nancy Sechreist Pauline Ireland Babs Simpson Anne Lamkin Jackie Warfel

Th e Guild of Th e Birmingham Music Club Past Presidents Pauline Ireland ...... 1988 Judy Daniel & Gloria Spruill ...... 1998-1999 Nancy Sechriest ...... 1988-1989 Andrea Nelson ...... 1999-2000 Charlotte McDavid ...... 1989-1991 Anna Keith ...... 2000-2001 Janette Beaumont ...... 1991-1992 Joan Parker ...... 2001-2002 Carolyn Long ...... 1992-1993 Carolyn Reich ...... 2002-2003 Patsy Collat ...... 1993-1994 Anne Lamkin ...... 2003-2004 Elouise Williams ...... 1994-1995 Jessie Bean ...... 2004-2005 Annie Green ...... 1995-1996 Virginia McDorman & Jessie Bean .. 2005-2006 Linda Askins ...... 1996-1997 Martha Schoel ...... 2006-2007 Anne Lamkin ...... 1997-1998

24 Th e Junior Board of Th e Birmingham Music Club Past Presidents Mrs. Axel Bolvig ...... 1961-1962 Mrs. Edmund A. Terrell ...... 1979-1980 (Mrs. Richard G. Duncan) Mrs. Ernest C. Wood ...... 1980-1981 Mrs. Robert Collins ...... 1962-1963 Mrs. Robert H. Woodrow III ...... 1981-1982 Mrs. Elbridge Hydinger ...... 1963-1964 Mrs. James Rotch ...... 1982-1983 Mrs. E. B. Oliver ...... 1964-1965 Mrs. Alex P. Goodhew ...... 1983-1984 Mrs. Tom Nesbitt ...... 1965-1966 Mrs. Charles Henry ...... 1984-1985 Mrs. Jack Orcutt ...... 1966-1967 Mrs. Elias C. Watson III ...... 1985-1986 Mrs. Frank Kennedy ...... 1967-1968 Mrs. Morton Simpson ...... 1986-1987 Mrs. Hugh Morrow ...... 1968-1969 Mrs. Walter Browning ...... 1987-1988 (Mrs. Walter Wilson) Mrs. Russell Greenhalgh ...... 1988-1989 Mrs. E. B. Meyercord, Jr...... 1969-1970 Mrs. James L. Drennen ...... 1989-1991 Mrs. E. Barry Evans ...... 1970-1971 Ms. Lauren Manning ...... 1991-1992 Mrs. David J. Sullivan ...... 1971-1972 Mrs. Kirk Dortch ...... 1992-1993 Mrs. D. Evans Marks ...... 1972-1973 Ms. Sherri Nielson ...... 1993-1994 (Mrs. G. Allen Weatherford, Jr.) Mrs. ...... 1994-1995 Mrs. Walter S. Sechriest, Jr...... 1973-1974 Ms. Anne Bryson ...... 1995-1996 Mrs. Grady W. Gibbons ...... 1974-1975 Ms. Heather Gibbons ...... 1996-1997 Mrs. William J. Warfel ...... 1975-1976 Mrs. Michael Eady ...... 1997-1998 Mrs. J. Vernon Patrick, Jr...... 1976-1977 Mrs. Mark Burson ...... 1998-2000 Mrs. James W. Rainer, Jr...... 1977-1978 Mrs. Scott Welch ...... 2000-2001 Mrs. J. Peyton McDaniel ...... 1978-1979

25 Th e Birmingham Music Club Centennial Committee 2005-06 Kathi Ash Margaret Hubbard Linda Askins John Jones Edith Bauman Anne Lamkin Jessie Bean Philippe Lathrop Cruse Bevill Sandra Lynn Martha Black Lyndel Lyons Jeanne Bradford Virginia McDorman Lynn Briggs Nancy Morrow Alice Brown Marilyn Murray Shirley Brown Bess McCrory Peeples Anne Bryson Sheri Perry Marti Buck Fiona Pratt Laurie Bullington Dana Robicheaux Beth Campbell Kathleen Roth Bonnie Cicio Deidra Ryan Elaine Clark Martha Schoel Anne Cobb Fay Shirley Grace Cooper Babs Simpson Penelope Cunningham Lochrane Coleman Smith Judy Daniel Nan Teninbaum Sally Demetz Susan Tipler Marsha Drennen Sue Ann Watkins Pat Durward Nancy Watson Ann Elliott Francis Wheelock Elizabeth Ezell Freida White Marlea Foster Jenny Whitmore Anna Gainer Elouise Williams Sandra Haley Harold Williams Diane Hall Cherie Woods Yvonne Henderson Janis Zeanah

26 The Birmingham Music Club appreciates the many friends and supporters who have made the fi rst 100 years so successful. Now, the Music Club is ready for and looking forward to the next 100 years!

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