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Established 1879
REVIE
VOL 104, No. 6
THE
PIONEER
PUBLICATION
June. 1945
2785th Issue
OF THE M U S I C
INDUSTRY
York, Pa., Sets an Example in
Observing National Music Week
OR twenty years the City of York, Pa., has been observing
National Music Week with growing enthusiasm and increas-
ing results. When the Music Week Program in York was
first started, it was handled by a voluntary committee who
started in a very small way and slowly developed interest in
the program. As this interest developed, the details of
arranging and executing the public functions of Music Week
were turned over to the City Recreation Committee, which
is an organization created and supported by the city government. This move
gave Music Week a municipal standing and removed from it all thought of
commercialism.
York is the third city in Pennsylvania for diversity of manufacturing. While
it is a city of 75,000 population, it contains nearly a dozen plants that are
the largest of their type in the world. There are over two hundred and fifty
industrial plants in York City. Music has been steadily growing in the recre-
ational activities of these plants and a large number of them have choruses,
orchestras and bands. As a result, when the Music Week Program is devel-
oped, these musical organizations are available and are glad to serve.
Outstanding Symphony Orchestra
community affairs; Mrs. Evelyn W.
York also has an outstanding sym- Becker, Supervisor of Music in the
phony Orchestra, composed of local York Public Schools, who has devel-
musicians who give their services for oped an excellent course of group piano
the community benefit. The Matinee instruction in the York Public Schools;
Music Club of York is also an out- Chauncey D. Bond, Vice President and
standing musical organization that con- General Manager of Weaver Piano Co.;
tributes much to the musical activities Mr. Gilbert Dietz of the York Gazette
of t- e community. There are also sev- & Daily, who is an expert in organiz-
eral bands with outstanding reputa- ing public affairs; Mrs. Constance
tions and numerous choruses of a per- Fabie of the York Dispatch; Miss Lou
manent nature that contribute much to Finkbinder, head of the Music De-
the musical activities of the commun- partment of the York Senior High
ity, including the York Y.M.C.A. School; Dr. Urban Hershey, Minister
Chorus, which has been in existence of Music of St. Paul's Evangelical
for nearly fifty years, the Y.W.C.A. Lutheran Church and Director of the
Chorus and a Mixed Chorus, the York YMCA Male- Chorus and the YWCA
Chorus and many others. York also Female Chorus; Mrs. William Janson,
has over eighty churches. The great an outstanding musician; Mr. David
majority of these have excellent church King, Prothonotary of York County,
choirs, so that, when Music Week "ar- Director of the York City Band and
rives, there is plenty of material to director of the orchestra of St. Paul's
work with and the community spirit Evangelical Church; Mrs. Frank Kis-
is developed so that thev are all will- singer of the Matinee Music Club and
ing and ready to serve for this event. outstanding musician; Mrs. Sarah
This year a Music Week Committee, Mathiot, director of the Music Union
and ac-
appointed by the City Recreational Evangelical Lutheran Church
;
Commission, consisted of: Mrs. Jay tive in the Matinee Mus c Club; Mr.
Arnold, wife of Rev. Jay Arnold, an E. E. Schroeder, a professional musi-
outstanding musician and active in cian and director of the York Chorus
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW, JUNE, 1945
and numerous industrial choruses; Mr.
Edward Simmons, director of Crispus
Attucks Association; Mrs. Pauline
Lehn Small, an outstanding vocalist
and vocal teacher and active in the
Matinee Music Club; Mr. Louis Vyner,
Program and Musical Director of Ra-
dio Station WSBA, conductor York
Symphony Orchestra; Miss Helen Wei-
ser Ziegler, director York Hospital
Nurses' Chorus; and Miss Margaret
R. Swartz, City Director of Recreation,
•who headed up the program.
Harpist Opened Festivities
This year the week's activities start-
ed with a concert by Rebecca Lewis
Wagner, a famous harpist, a graduate
of the Curtis School of Music, soloist
with the Minneapolis Symphony Or-
chestra, and a native of York, and the
Matinee Music Club Chorus of twenty
voices, directed by Mr. Louis Vyner.
On Sunday, May 6th, the churches
of York observed Music Week with
special music and many of the minis-
ters used "Music" as their theme for
their sermons. The Music Week Com-
mittee also arranged that all the
churches in York having Tower Chimes
or broadcasting systems send music
over the air each day at noon and each
evening at six during the entire week.
A great many of the factory choruses,
orchestras and bands, and the com-
munity musical organizations put on
concerts during this week.
Around the Clock in Song
The outstanding event of the week
was held on Thursday evening in the
William Penn Senior High School.
This was a pageant written by Helen
L. Miller of the William Penn Senior
High School Faculty, who has been
very successful in developing high
school and community pageants that
are successful, attractive and not too
complicated to be put on by volunteer
groups. This paceant was entitled
"Around The Clock In Song" and gave
a picture of how music and song is
used to brighten and help our lives in