Music Meets Drama

American women’s artistic creativity is mind boggling. Attending the Women in the Arts Conference at the University of Missouri St. Louis was a great testament to my opening statement. Dr. Barbara Harbach organized an inspiring conference that fostered women’s accomplishments and acknowledged the diversity of women as creators. Martin and I performed our Gena show the evening before the conference opening. A warm, receptive audience awaited us and at the “talk back” we were greeted with questions about Gena Branscombe and her era. Once again, we made friends with wonderful, caring people. Women from across the United States came to St. Louis to present concerts and lectures about their books, poetry, music, art and documentary films. Two evening concerts featured music of composer-in-residence Beth Denisch of Berklee College. With three days of presentations, it would be difficult to single out one woman presenter as the best. Every woman who particip...

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...