2015 Centennial Gala Historical Moments
By Gay H. Pool
The beautiful hats and afternoon dresses have faded into the sunset, and the silver punch bowl and tea set are put away never to be reopened. They are treasured memories for those who participated in a more formal Boise Tuesday Musicale that no longer exists, but for those whose lives center around beautiful music, the afternoon teas may have disappeared but the music never stopped.
1915 was a big year for the likes of Babe Ruth hitting homers, the movie “The Birth of a Nation” was being seen on screens, and music greats Frank Sinatra, Edith Piaf, Billie Holiday, Les Paul and Alice Faye were born.
Boise Tuesday Musicale appears on the scene in 1915 when a group of five educated women formed a music club for their own pleasure, entertainment and education.
As we read through minutes and newspaper clippings, five areas of activity were mentioned over and over.
First: Meetings with programs of music education on composers, styles of music, and instruments
Second: There were plenty of Board meetings and committees to make things happen.
Third: Junior Club members were playing and later participating in festivals.
Fourth: They held events to raise funds for scholarships for students to go to summer music camps and for Boise State Music Department.
Fifth and most importantly….FOOD!!!! Lots and lots of food at teas, luncheons and dinners over the years. Now listen for these to come up in the next one hundred years.
I would like to read from the original minutes which our Historian, Carol Pavlinik, and I found at the Historical Archives while researching this organization’s history.
“On the evening of January 16, 1915, Mmes Tukey, Fraser, Northrop, Stoutemeyer and Barton met at the home of the latter to discuss plans for the organization of a small musical club. All agreed that with our combined enthusiasm much profit could be had by all. Mrs. Fraser was appointed Chairman and all were invited to give ideas. Mrs. Gamble had kindly offered her services in any way possible, for which all present expressed appreciation of her generosity. It was decided to call the club The Tuesday Musicale, to limit the membership to twelve; and further decided to hold the meetings every second Tues. a.m. from 10-12 o’clock, at the home of Mrs. Barton, beginning Tues. the 19th
In order to lay a foundation for study it was arranged that at the following meeting Mrs. Northrop would prepare a biographical sketch of J. S. Bach, and Mrs. Barton follow with selections of his compositions. Mmes. Gamble, Stoutemeyer and Abernathy were appointed a committee to prepare programs. Adjourned to meet on Tues. a.m.
Cora Barton, Sec.”
Now remember, at that time the United states was a relatively young country. European musical traditions and music had been the norm, but the U.S. was starting to come into its own. When the Federation of Music Clubs was organized in 1898 in Chicago, it’s purpose was to promote American music through networking small, various clubs of singers, bands, and musical groups in towns across the land.
At the January 19th meeting they first discussed ideals and programs.
“Mrs. Gamble made a plea that in our zeal to study works of the old masters that we do not forget our own famous American composers. She reminded us that America is at last conceded by the world to be a musical nation, that it has music of a high class strictly American in style and taste. ‘America has at last arrived musically!’ “ They went on to have a program of Bach and his life that would rival facts on Wikipedia!
They continued with lectures and performances as diverse as: Evolution of Scales with blackboard illustrations, History of The Organ and Pianoforte, Beethoven, Mozart, Rubinstein and Liszt, Stephen Heller, Adolf von Henselt, and Stephen Fosters’ music.
Also, remember that women did not routinely get to go on to college past high school, and Women’s Clubs became a type of university education as they presented talks about the subject at hand.
Club Women of the Three Intermountain Cities of Denver, Boise, and Salt Lake City between 1893 and 1929, Carver, Sharon Snow.
p.117 “From the beginning of their organization in the Intermountain States, Women’s clubs mothered many vital improvements in education. Before turning to reform, their first efforts had been aimed at their own members, who often referred to women’s clubs as universities for middle-aged women and claimed that they offered a post-high school university for women who lacked an advanced education. These women studied various subjects with zeal and delivered original papers to their clubs. The papers, while not literary masterpieces, were painstakingly reserved, written and read by club women who conscientiously tried to improve their minds.”
The ladies soon enlarged the membership to 12. They had to meet in a house with a piano and could only accommodate so many people in the parlor.
By April 27 “It was voted to hold a special meeting to decide the question of enlarging membership, and to decide further questions left unfinished from the previous meetings. “
“It was decided to have a musical tea after May 15th…”
The program was on ‘A career as a composer-pianist, Arthur Rubinstein.’
May 4, 1915 “It was moved and seconded and voted unanimously that the club membership be limited to 20 members and that they be elected by secret ballot, two blackballs barring admittance…The first regular meeting of the new year shall take place the first Tuesday in October.”
May 11th’s program was Liszt.
May 15 “The special business meeting was conducted at the home of Mrs. Stoutemeyer with the Pres. in the chair, voted to have very few and simple bylaws in order to make the club more firm in its foundation.”
By May they were planning a tea, but instead had a final program at the Owyhee Hotel in honor of Mrs. Gamble, with a Breakfast following.
The club reconvened in the fall of 1915. On October 12 the minutes read, “Mrs. Skillern…of course you know that would be Kate Skillern…Mrs. Lang and Miss Funsten were unanimously elected to membership, thus making the list complete.” October 19th’s program was Debussy.
We read twice more in the minutes that if there were 2-3 votes against someone being made a member they would be blackballed! And that was the term used in the minutes! They were tough cookies!
The programs continued, including Russian music, Debussy, and Modern Music circa 1900-1915. January 4, 1916, it was arranged for Mr. Beale’s program and the members voted a fee of $1.50 for the expense of the lecture-recital. January 12, 1916, was Mr. Beale’s lecture. The minutes as written by secretary Cora Barton read,
“An explanation was given of new ideas of modern composers being boldly used with utter disregard of long-tried rules of the old masters of composition. A program of illustrations of moderns of different countries was played most effectively by Mr. Beale. The compositions were dated from 1900-1915. Some were as mystifying and nerve jarring as the works of the ‘cubist’ artists. The intervals of scales were so employed as to make discordant noises; and the rhythm was a puzzling question mark in all cases. For all this, the musical technique of Mr. Beale made the program a pleasure. His clear explanations of all peculiarities made us feel it was well to know something of these ultra modern methods.”
As the year progressed they voted to have Associate members, which I assume were non-performers until they were approved to be active so they could perform.
In 1917 the then named “Boise Musical Club” program yearbook had 7 groups of 6 ladies each who rotated planning and executing the twice monthly sessions on various composers. Meetings were now at 3 p.m. and they had 22 vocalist members and 21 instrumentalists.
At the end of the year in May an annual luncheon was held at the Owyhee Hotel based on Shakespeare with flowers from his writings on each table. Then in the Blue Room a program of Shakespeare songs was presented including those wonderful Top 40 Hits, “Who Is Sylvia?” and “Hark, Hark! A Lark.”
1919 brought a young bride named Grace Barringer to Boise who would join the music club. She would be credited with naming the Rose Luncheon in May, although the meeting was often held in the Rose room of the Owyhee Hotel with tables full of roses from everyone’s garden. Mrs. Willard Burns oversaw creating a rose garden at the hotel and the program featured a Rose song and poetry.
Grace Barringer was immediately mentioned by two of my present day interviewees, for they remembered her regaling the club at each Rose Luncheon with tales of the early years until her passing in the 1980’s.
From an Idaho Statesman interview of Mrs. Barringer:
“Some meetings were held in backyards of Boise’s lovely homes such as the Falk’s with a blue pool and overhanging apple boughs, or the lazy canal and waterwheel of the Barton home on Warm Springs——The weeping willows and Japanese Iris at ‘Dilkoosha,’ the name given the home of Mrs. Hart, or the flower covered terraces of the Bicknell garden.
Occasionally there would be rain, and we were obliged to sing, dance and play between rain showers. Trees were at a premium. The soloists fled to the protection of the arbour and the wandering minstrels dejectedly strummed under umbrellas.”
The Boise Columbian Club now had a building for meetings and Boise Tuesday Musical (minus the “e” on Musicale) was off and running. Over the years, the YMCA with its stage, would be the site of programs as well.
By 1928 a young music teacher who was educated in group piano method had come to teach at St. Margaret’s School. Bernice Brusen got that class approved for the school and a Junior Club was formed and federated with the National Federation of Music Clubs. They held their first multi-piano concert May 15, 1928 at Sampson’s Hall.
From the Idaho Statesman:
“An ensemble featuring 16 pianists at eight pianos will be presented, the first of its kind to be attempted here. The personnel of the ensemble is made up of pupils from the music studies of Mrs. E. Bell, Mrs. Maud Lowry Cleary, Mrs. Grubb, and St. Margaret’s school under the direction of Miss Brusen.”
This would be the forerunner of the future “Monster Concerts” named for the huge group of pianos and fingers playing simultaneously. Of course, the catchy title was an enticement to the students!
In 1931 the Tuesday Musicale Chorus of 50 trained voices was organized. They were the predecessor of the Boise Choristers. We know the original group was invited to sing at the 1947 National Federation of Music Clubs Convention in Detroit, but they never got to attend. We found no articles after the initial invitation was mentioned in the Statesman.
In 1935 the word “Musical” was stretched into “Musicale” and “Club” was dropped as the current name “Boise Tuesday Musicale” became official.
After the Club joined the National Federation of Music Clubs in 1942, efforts focused on more financial assistance to student musicians and composers to attend summer music festivals, music camps, and colleges. Over the years, fund raising projects included:
-card parties
-400 pianists playing on 18 pianos on the floor of the Boise High School gym in 1957. That concert was the 5th ensemble program with pianos provided by Dunkley Music Store
-A series of garage sales to fund an organ scholarship to Boise State University
-The Sugar Plum Fairy sale at Christmas for many years
-Christmas Bazaars at the Congregational Church at 23rd and State
-Visiting professors would offer their recitals free at the new Special Events Center on campus at BSU such as Prof. Nehrer from University of Idaho and later Dr. Del Parkinson would perform
-Antique clothing exhibitions and a luncheon at First Methodist led to a period clothing show at the Egyptian Theatre planned and narrated by Mary Bratt. Mary Bratt would be mentioned over and over in interviews I conducted as to the reason people had joined Tuesday Musicale. She pulled the talent out of people and included them in meetings and preparations for events.
-Christmas tours of homes with florists decorating them on Warm Springs was followed years later in the 1990’s with the financially successful Mother’s Day tours of homes on Harrison Boulevard and Warm Springs. Music was provided by each year’s scholarship winners for Summer Music Camps. If a home did not have a piano, harpists and string quartets would perform
-“Is There A Doctor In The House?” where all types of doctors…from M.D.s to PhDs, from dentists to chiropractors… performed in one program to raise funds, including the band from the VA Hospital.
-And the Joyce A. Chaffer Trust would designate Tuesday Musicale with the responsibility to distribute funds to piano, organ and harpsichord majors at Idaho universities, or to Idahoans going to schools out of state. Since 1996 almost $800,000 has been awarded to Jrs. and Srs. and Masters students.
And remember Mrs. Kate Skillern’s name? Her grandson, “Little Billy Skillern” as written on the back of a photo, dressed as Mozart at age 9, would became a star pianist of Bernice Brusen’s studio in the 50’s. Miss Brusen, a mover and shaker and the ultimate music teacher on the Boise scene, would present historical recitals called “Then and Now.” The curtain would open on tableaus of famous musical paintings enacted by her students in costumes before they played their pieces. William “Bill” Skillern would grow up to start a music degree but end up with a Doctorate in Political Science and teach over a very long career as a Professor at Boise State University. He and Flora have lived in a house on Warm Springs Avenue for over 44 years, opening it to Tuesday Musicale’s Tour of Homes for a fundraiser. Bill continues to play the piano with a trio during his retirement years. Each one of us has a teacher who made a difference, and Bernice Brusen certainly did that in many lives in Boise.
And Boise Tuesday Musicale’s Junior Club? It has grown to have over 2,600 students playing solos, duets, and concerti in our yearly adjudicated spring Festivals. Having grown so large, we divided the festivals and city in fourths by teacher zip codes to have enough pianos for the students to play over several weekends. Plus there is a Harp festival, Voice festival and String festival , and a Fall duet/Concerto festival preceding our Monster Concert sponsored by Dunkley Music at the Centennial Performing Arts Center.
We have grown from 5 ladies focusing on composers to over 200 volunteers who make events happen for the education of our youth. Everyone gives of their time and selves, whether as a teacher, or door monitor during adjudications, or bringing refreshments at our meetings. We have continued to follow the original object of this Club, to advance the interest and promote culture of musical art in Boise along with the mutual improvements of our members.
Thank you for making this organization what it has become. YOU are the Giants on whose shoulders our future generations will stand.
And throughout the past almost 60+ years, one music store has contributed to our success and programs over and over. The Dunkley Music Store started by William Dunkley, and now run by his son Mark Dunkley, have carried the music for our students to buy for Festivals, provided recital space for our concerts and competitions, as well as pianos for our fundraisers. Dorothy Dunkley served many years on our Board. We are indebted to them for their continuing support of our efforts to musically educate the youth of Boise and surrounding communities. For this reason, with gratitude and heartfelt thanks, we have dedicated our yearbook to the Dunkley Family.