Music Meets Drama

Below is the hyperlink to the Pilgrims of Destiny blog.  The students at Clark University led by their conductor, Dan Ryan, are preparing for the upcoming April concert of this beautiful and historical piece of music.  I love their hashtag  #BringBackBranscombe!   When you read the blog, click on the "FOLLOWERS" button.  You'll be notified when new blogs are posted.  You will get updates on their rehearsals and more. http://pilgrimsofdestiny.blogspot.com Last evening via Skype, I was able to see and listen to their rehearsal.  Dan Ryan is preparing his students for April's performance.  It will be special  Great job, Dan!   #Bringing BackBranscombe

Clark University has officially announced the performance of Gena Branscombe's dramatic oratorio, Pilgrims of Destiny .  https://clarknow.clarku.edu/2019/01/22/clark-choirs-to-present-21st-century-premiere-of-lost-masterwork-pilgrims-of-destiny/ Last performed in 1940, this oratorio gave Miss Branscombe an avenue to express her great passion for the understanding of the pilgrims' journey to their new country.  Filled with love, conflict and deep seated faith of the travelers, her rich romantic music is a reminder that the word composer is gender neutral.  Seemingly lost to the world of music by the mid 1950s,  Pilgrims of Destiny is brought to life in the 21st century by Clark University's choir directed by Dan Ryan.   Please join us on Saturday, April 27th. #BringingBackBranscombe

  “Declassified: Women Composers Hiding in Plain Sight”.   What an interesting title for a blog written by Melissa Wertheimer, Music Reference Specialist, at the Library of Congress.   Click on the link below and read about Melissa’s first days working for the Library of Congress, finding a picture of five women composers with no identification.   Her search through the Library’s various collections to solve the mystery of the five women in the photo is intriguing. https://blogs.loc.gov/music/2018/05/women-composers-hidden-in-plain-sight/ The five women are (left to right):   Phyllis Fergus, Ethel Glenn Hier, Amy Beach, Harriet Ware and Gena Branscombe.  They were in Washington, DC having been invited to join the League of American Pen Women.  These five were the elite women composers of their day.  This past November, Melissa presented her research in a lecture also entitled, “Declassified: Women Composers Hiding in Plain S...

Please click on the link below to read a recently published article I wrote for the Association of Canadian Women Composers Fall/Winter Journal.   Entitled, "For the Love of Two Countries", the article focuses on the music Gena Branscombe wrote for her country of birth, Canada, and her adopted country, the United States.   Her song settings and her oratorio, Pilgrims of Destiny  allow her to share her dedication to and love of both countries.   When the journal opens in your browser, scroll down to page 5.  Enjoy! https://acwcweb.files.wordpress.com/2018/12/acwc-afcc-journal-fall-winter-issue-2018.pdf Composer Gena Branscombe #BringingBackBranscombe

Destruction of cemeteries is a painful process for the family members whose relatives’ grave markers have been harmed.   Is the thrill of doing something bad and maybe never getting caught what gives the perpetrators the right to cause this harm?   Does being disrespectful of other people’s property ever cross their minds?   In June of this year, the 140 year old Glenwood Cemetery in Picton, Ontario was vandalized with headstones and monuments nearly being destroyed and 150 of them being toppled off their foundations.   The cemetery estimated it would cost $150,000 to make all the repairs.   Fund raising has begun.   Fortunately, my friend and helpful research colleague in Picton, John D. Lyons, went to the cemetery to inquire about Branscombe family records only to find out that their headstone had been harmed.   Buried in this cemetery are Gena Branscombe’s father - Henry William Branscombe, her mother – Sara Elizabeth Allison Bransco...

Every other blog entry I make seems to be about Gena Branscombe items that have been given to me or that I purchased from E-bay or Amazon websites.  This past week two people sent me Branscombe items.  From the daughter of Agnes Conway, a Branscombe Choral member, I received 45 rpm records of the December 1953, Spring and December 1954 performances the Choral gave at the Broadway Tabernacle Church and Town Hall.  Thank you to Mary Conway for these recordings.  Agnes Conway passed away on December 31, 2017.  I am fairly sure she was the last Branscombe Choral member.   From the grandson of  Branscombe Choral member, Marie Zieres, I received her choral folder.   Covered in red fabric, the folder matched the robes and hats the women wore for their concerts.   Neatly tucked inside the folder were the programs from the Choral’s December 1949 and May 1950 concerts.   The small treasure inside the folder was a receipt made ou...

In May 2015, I wrote a blog entry about Gena Branscombe’s dramatic oratorio, Pilgrims of Destiny .   There was a detailed description of what was happening in Miss Branscombe’s and her family’s life at the time.   Also, I had found an original 1929 piano/vocal score online and purchased it.   Please go back and read the posting. This blog is about Pilgrims of Destiny and wonderful news to share with you.   Pilgrims of Destiny will be performed Saturday, April 27, 2019 at Clark University in Worcester, MA.  Dan Ryan, Director of Choral Activities at Clark University, will conduct this work which has not been performed since 1940.   When I began work on my Gena Branscombe Project, it was always my dream to see that Pilgrims of Destiny be performed once again. Last year I received an e-mail from conductor Dan Ryan telling me had found the score and was interested in performing the work.  Several weeks later we spoke by ph...