Music Trade Review

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MARCH 27,
1926
THE MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
Glen Bros.-Roberts Offer Ghickering
as Trophy in State Contest
Ogden, Utah, Firm Sponsors State-Wide Piano Playing Contest With Chickering Grand as Prize—An Inter-
view With George S. Glen, Head of This Firm, by Maurice Richmond, of the Richmond
Music Supply Corp., New York—The Scope of the Contest and Its Aims
O
GDEN, Utah, is a great little town of
about 40,000 people, a bustling business
center, nestling in the Rockies. You
can't get anywhere in this Western region with-
out coming to Ogden. It is the great gateway
where the chief Western railroads and the auto
highways meet the East with the West. It is
only a few hours' ride from the Yellowstone
Park and the Grand Canyon of Arizona; an
hour away from Salt Lake City. Ogden gets
its water from thirty-four artesian wells ISO feet
below the surface. Ogden's water is clear, cool
and 100 per cent pure. It leads in copper, silver
and lead.
Upon my arrival I immediately called on the
Glen Bros.-Roberts Piano Co. and had a nice
visit with Ralph I). Roberts, the secretary-
treasurer. During our conversation Mr. Roberts
stated: "Conditions with us have been much
better for 1925. Our Christmas trade was good,
particularly in our Salt Lake City store." This
firm makes its headquarters at Ogden and
operates Salt Lake as a branch store. Mr.
Roberts seemed very pleasant, the type that
Glenn Frank talks about, stating: "Happiness
cannot be switched on like an electric current
after office hours. If we cannot somehow
manage to find satisfaction in our work, there
is small chance that we will find it outside of
our work."
It was my good fortune that the head of the
firm, George S. Glen, dashed in while I was
talking to Mr. Roberts. I was immediately
introduced and Mr. Glen told me enthusiastically
about his trophy contest for Utah music pupils.
A copy of his talk is now being broadcast
throughout the State of Utah. He gave me this
contest first-hand, which is as follows:
"We believe that everyone who loves music,
and especially those who are interested in the
development of the musical art, will learn with
real pleasure the plan we have worked out for
encouraging a greater interest in the serious
study of the piano.
"We believe that our plan will greatly bene-
fit every teacher of the piano, and will surely
stimulate every serious-minded student to
greater effort. We hope it will encourage all
talented but possibly unenthusiastic students to
a sincerer interest in their work.
Rules Governing the Contest
"Briefly, our plan is to give free of any charge
whatever a beautiful Chickering grand piano,
valued at $1,750, to any student receiving the
highest percentage of points based on musician-
ship, rhythm, freedom of interpretation and tone
color.
"The rules governing our trophy contest are
as follows: The prize to be awarded will be a
Chickering Style I grand piano, valued at $1,750.
A prize consisting of the same style and price
piano will be offered annually, one piano each
year, for three years. Only one contestant from
each teacher school, academy or conservatory
may be entered. All contestants must sign the
application blank in their own handwriting and
the application must bear the endorsement of
the teacher school, academy or conservatory
from which the student comes. No contestant
is eligible who has appeared in public concerts
for which a fee has been received, or who has
given a personal recital for which tickets have
been sold. All selections must be played from
memory. All contestants must be entered with
the Glen Bros.-Roberts Piano Co. by October
1, 1926, on blanks provided for the purpose by
the Glen Bros.-Roberts Piano Co. All applica-
tions to participate in this contest must be sent
to the Educational Division, Glen Bros.-Roberts
Piano Co., Salt Lake City or Ogden, Utah. All
contestants for the Glen Bros.-Roberts Piano
Co. Trophy must have been resident piano-forte
students of the State of Utah for a period of
not less than six months. The contest will be
held the latter part of October, 1926. No win-
ning contestant will be eligible to enter a contest
any succeeding year. Contestants will not be re-
quired to pay an entrance fee of any kind. All
contestants entered will be notified by mail as
to when and where the contest will be held. The
name of the winner will be announced through
the public press. The judges will be screened
from contestants and will call for them by num-
ber. The decision of the judges shall be final.
The judges reserve the right to disqualify any
contestant when, in their opinion, such contes-
tant, for any reason, is not eligible under the
rules of this contest.
"The compositions to be played are: concerto,
A minor (all three movements), Grieg; 'Per-
petual Motion,' rondo from sonata op. 54 Von
Weber, and 'Liebestraum,' Nocturne No. 3,
Liszt.
"We contemplate closing the contest in Oc-
tober, thus giving ample time for preparation
and allowing sufficiently for an elimination con-
test in each teacher's, school's or institution's
piano department.
"The board of judges will be made up of
people eminently qualified and will number about
fifteen. Wle are inviting such people as the musi-
cal critics of the press, musical supervisors of
the public schools, and well-known music lovers
to serve as judges, but, of course, no teachers
who have students in the contest.
"We propose making this an annual contest,
giving a fine Chickering grand each year, so the
student of to-day who is not far enough ad-
vanced to compete this year can look forward
to the next or even to the third contest, thus
keeping alive a constant interest in the study.
"To get the best results we must have the
whole-hearted co-operation of the teachers of
our State. We are doing this for the teachers
and their students, and our desire is to build up
to even a higher degree an interest and appre-
ciation of the art of music. We want to help
make Utah the most musical State in the Union.
"We love music and want the greatest pos-
sible number of people to share our pleasure in
more good music. Give More Thought To
Music."
A good description of Mr. Glen. He displays
a great deal of vigor. Keenly, alive, with a fine,
swinging step, he is gifted with the power of
expressing his knowledge, a strong character,
brimming over with new ideas. He thoroughly
believes in the power of true faith. It was a deep
saying of Coleridge that: "Nothing great was
ever done without enthusiasm." The most fertile
of forces is enlightened faith. The American
philosopher, William James, tells of two men
with the same muscular equipment facing the
same chasm over which it was necessary to
jump in order to be saved. One believed he
would fall; the other believed he would succeed.
Both were right for the belief created the fact,
look that over.
Thomas J. Holland, a director of the firm
as well as general manager, is well pleased with
its musical instrument business, particularly
saxophones and ukuleles and general merchan-
dise and sheet music, which are doing nicely.
He is a hustler, that is a known fact. I really
don't know whether he is of a religious type but
he stated: "The religion of some people consists
of praying that the Lord will provide, and many
a man is too busy reading the Bible to help his
wife with the dishes. Opportunity is around the
corner and is there waiting for you." The sheet
music department looked neat and Miss Kath-
eryne Fisher recently was put in charge. She
is a charming young lady, displaying Glen's
service. Politeness and courtesy go with it.
This Fisher maiden will make good in her work,
being willing to learn, alert and extremely ac-
tive, all of which will no doubt make her an
asset to the institution.
Want Stamps or Coins
to Honor Stephen Foster
another step towards better preparation of pub-
lic school staffs through specialization. Under
the direction of Prof. Richard W. Grant, now
head of the college department of music, the
new institute will offer courses approved by the
State Department of Public Instruction. They
meet certification requirements for Pennsylvania
and most other States, and more than seventy
credits of music will be offered. Advanced
students will be able to earn a Bachelor of Arts
degree in the School of Education. The insti-
tute will open July 5 and continue for six weeks.
Dr. Will Earhart, director of Music in the Pitts-
burgh Public Schools, will head the faculty.
Raymond A. Miller, who for many years was
the head of the Miller Organ Co., of Lebanon,
Pa., was killed in an automobile accident near
that city on March 21, when the automobile
crashed into a tree, through a mistake made by
the man at the wheel.
The fight of American musicians and enter-
tainers to force a wedge into England, where
they have been prohibited, was described by
Paul Specht, orchestra leader, at the meeting of
the Shrine Luncheon Club in the William Penn
Hotel.
Chamber of Commerce of Pittsburgh Urges
Recognition of Composer—Death of Raymond
A. Miller
PITTSBURGH, PA., March 23.—Music merchants
here are in full accord with the action of the
Chamber of Commerce of Pittsburgh adopting a
resolution asking the Congress to authorize the
issue of postage stamps bearing a photograph
of Stephen C. Foster, the composer. The Cham-
ber suggested as an alternative that if postage
stamps cannot be issued a coin be stricken
off with Foster's bust in place of that of the
usual Goddess of Liberty.
To better meet the demand of public school
teachers for instruction that will qualify them
for teachers and supervisors of school music,
the Pennsylvania State College will launch a
new feature in the coming Summer session to
be known as the Institute of Music Education.
This institute is regarded by Dean W. G.
Chambers, director of the Summer session, as