Music Meets Drama

One thousand women raising their voices to American music…..1000 women! Imagine a stage filled with 1000 women dressed in formal gowns. How large was the stage? What music would a chorus that size be able to perform? How many rehearsals did they have to prepare for the concert? Who sponsored the concert? Who organized the concert? Who was their conductor? Obviously, the answer to that last question is Gena Branscombe! One of the centerpiece stories of my one-woman show is Gena Branscombe’s membership in the General Federation of Women’s Clubs . Her participation on the Executive Board for the Golden Jubilee Convention in 1941 that took place in Atlantic City, New Jersey, is told with excitement. There she was conducting a chorus of 1000 women singing her music. One can only imagine the thrill of hearing those women sing together. This past November, Gena Branscombe’s grandson, Roger Phenix, said he had something he wished to give me. What family treasure could...

As I have written my blog entries, I realized recently that more has been said about my Gena Branscombe project than about Gena Branscombe the person. When I perform my lecture recital, “Gena Branscombe: Her Life in Poetry & Song” after singing the opening song, I begin speaking with the statement, “Gena Branscombe born Picton, Ontario, November 4, 1881 died New York City July 1977. Daughter, woman, wife, working mother with four daughters, pianist, accompanist, composer, conductor; founder, conductor, fund raiser and organizer for over twenty years of her women’s chorus The Branscombe Choral, leader of women holding executive offices in such organizations as the National League of American Pen Women, General Federation of Women’s Clubs, National Federation of Music Clubs, Society of American Women Composers, Altrusa International and more…..oh, and did I mention, she was the mother of four?” Here in pictures is Gena’s life with a little commentary. I trust this will expla...