Music Meets Drama

One year ago the Association of Canadian Women Composers invited me to write an article about Gena Branscombe.  The article "For the Love of Two Countries" was published in their Fall 2018 journal.   This year I was asked to write a follow-up article about the April 2019 concert of Miss Branscombe's dramatic oratorio, Pilgrims of Destiny .  Below is the hyperlink to the Journal with the article on page 12.   https://acwcweb.files.wordpress.com/2019/12/acwc_afcc-journal-fall-2019_winter-2020.pdf Miss Branscombe's music is now firmly placed in the 21st century.  #BringingBackBranscombe

An e-mail from Allison Charney arrived in my mailbox asking me how to pronounce Gena Branscombe’s first name.   She went on to explain that with her colleague and friend, Donna Weng Friedman, the two would be hosting four one-hour radio shows featuring women composers entitled -   Her/Music:Her/Story.   The shows were broadcast on WQXR on four consecutive Friday evenings at 9 PM starting on September 13 th .    The first show celebrated the 200 th birthday of pianist/composer Clara Schumann (October 13, 1819 – 1896).   Allison and Donna took us on a journey discussing Clara’s life as a piano prodigy, wife to composer Robert Schumann, mother of eight children and composer.   Interspersed with their informative discussion were examples of Clara’s music - piano, instrumental and vocal.   The second broadcast was the Three B’s: Lili Boulanger (1893-1918), Gena Branscombe (1881-1977) and Amy Beach (1867-1944).   How c...

In 2018 two recordings were released that included works by Gena Branscombe.   Orchestral music of American composers from the late 19 th century and early 20 th century represents one of the CDs.   The second recording features the piano music of 13 American women composers.   American Romantics III garnered the Lansdowne Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Reuben Blundell, the Ernst Bacon Memorial Award for the Performance of American Music.   Recording the music of David Stanley Smith, Carol Busch, Edward MacDowell, Charles Wakefield Cadman, Cecil Burleigh, Ludwig Bonvin and Gena Branscombe – not all the composers are familiar names to everyone, the music is beautiful and a tribute to  the wide range of American music.   Congratulations.   Gena’s piece on this CD, “A Memory” was originally composed for violin and piano.   As a gift to the founder, Edwin Fleisher, of the Philadelphia Symphony club, composer William Happich arranged...

“The youngest member of our family is to be called Elizabeth – as her next oldest sister put it - “Elizabeth for long, and Betty for short.”  If you ever see the frivolous “Cosmopolitan Magazine” – please look at the cover of the September issue and you will see Betty – good as she is.  It’s an excellent likeness.  She’s the most responsive little mate imaginable ….  loves to be sung to, will stop short in the loudest howl if her mother sings – and makes a funny little “high up” sound all the time one is singing, as tho’ she were trying to sing too. “ The quoted excerpt is from a September 4, 1916 letter to Gena Branscombe’s publisher, Mr. Arthur P. Schmidt, of Boston.   The baby she refers to is the Tenney’s third daughter Betty who was born in June 1916.   At the time of this letter, Betty’s two older sisters, Gena and Vivian, were staying with their maternal grandmother in Picton, Ontario.   Mother Gena and her husband John were home in Ne...

The insights of the written word when given to its reader are limitless.  Recently I have been reading Gena Branscombe’s letters to her publisher, Arthur P. Schmidt of Boston.  Her letters begin in early January 1911 and continue through December 1951.  The correspondence is abundant covering what works will be published, royalties, what concerts she was performing and the singers who were performing her songs.  She included personal matters of what her children were doing, their shenanigans and the advice her husband gave her.  Then one particular letter caught my attention with Miss Branscombe’s philosophical and heartfelt admiration of a composer.   Her writing style is in the moment of what goes through her mind.   She uses dashes as a way of pausing to think of what she will express next.   In her letter to Schmidt dated June 26, 1915, she writes, “The work of Wagner is to me so transcendental -   that I personally feel ...

In late April, Wendi Maloney of the Library of Congress e-mailed to ask if I would be willing to be interviewed about my work on the music and life of Gena Branscombe.  Most important, was the work on reviving Miss Branscombe's dramatic oratorio, Pilgrims of Destiny .  Below is the hyperlink to the interview. https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2019/07/inquiring-minds-rediscovering-one-of-americas-leading-songwriters/ Over the past 20 years, it has been my honor to work on Gena's music and life.  There is more to come in the future - stay tuned! #BringingBackBranscombe

We are hectic and over scheduled people who allow work and other responsibilities to rule our lives.   We take little time to step back, breathe and assess what is happening.   Maybe there will come one day when an unexpected opportunity arises and we question whether we should tear ourselves away.   Maybe we should take a step forward to do something that will bring us joy.   Thus it was Thursday afternoon, June 6th, for me.   A late morning e-mail from Gena Branscombe’s grandson, Roger Branscombe Phenix, said he wanted to go to the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts to look through his grandmother’s music.   Should he call or e-mail to let the Special Collections department know he was coming?   In a return e-mail I explained you went to the third floor, requested the music and then waited to see it.   An idea came to me, “Would you like me to go with you?   I have some work to do with the collection.”   The answer...

Twenty years have passed since I began my Gena Project, as I call it.   Many of you have read and heard how I discovered her music, my journey through her life, co-authoring and performing a one-woman show, writing articles and giving talks about composer Gena Branscombe. Through the twenty years there have been countless people who have helped me, encouraged me, contacted me and been cheerleaders for the work I was doing.   As I look back, I have been blessed by each of these people, what they have generously given me and for their friendship. Very few of my Gena people had met one another and in some ways, they were compartmentalized because of their location or expertise.   Yet, each day I have been thankful for all of their contributions to my work. When Dan Ryan, Director of Choral Activities, at Clark University in Worcester, MA, announced he would be performing Gena Branscombe’s oratorio Pilgrims of Destiny on April 27, 2019, I knew that was the day ...

With many thanks to the Honourable Neil Ellis, Member of Parliament, Bay of  Qunite, for the letter below:

Richard Duckett of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette wrote a feature article about this Saturday's performance of Gena Branscombe's dramatic oratorio, Pilgrims of Destiny.   Conducted by Dan Ryan, Director of Choral Activities at Clark University, the concert includes the Clark University choirs, soloists, children's choir and orchestra.  A woman composer's award winning work will have its first performance in the 21st century! https://www.telegram.com/entertainmentlife/20190420/rediscovered-choral-drama-by-woman-composer-to-be-performed-at-clark-university-in-worcester #BringingBackBranscombe

On Saturday evening, April 27th, the Clark University Choirs under the direction of Dan Ryan will perform Gena Branscombe's dramatic oratorio, Pilgrims of Destiny .   Composed in 1919, the 1929 premiere of this work was given in Plymouth, MA with the last known performance in 1940.  This performance will mark the 21st century premiere of Miss Branscombe's masterpiece.   The concert is free and open to the public.  Please join us in Worcester, MA at Clark University's Atwood Hall for what will be an exciting evening of beautiful music.  #BringingBackBranscombe

The National League of American Pen Women's Spring magazine features an article about their illustrious former member, composer Gena Branscombe.  Miss Branscombe became a member in 1924.  In 1928 the Pen Women awarded her dramatic oratorio, Pilgrims of Destiny , their National Best Composition Award. The upcoming performance of the oratorio at Clark University under the direction of Dan Ryan, Director of Choral Activities, is mentioned in this article. Click on the link below to read the article. https://www.nlapw.org/music-feature-stephie-rae-grenier/renowned-composer-gena-branscombe-back-in-the-spotlight/ #BringingBackBranscombe

On Sunday, March 10th and Monday, March 11th, I was invited to Clark University to work with conductor, Dan Ryan, his chorus and student soloists.   To say the very least, it was two fun-filled days of meeting students, listening to them sing Gena Branscombe’s music, answering questions about the composer’s life and music as well as participating in the evening chorus rehearsal for Pilgrims of Destiny .   What a great job these musicians are doing to make the concert happen.   This is the beginning of a dream coming true!   Twenty years ago when I met Gena Tenney Phenix, Gena Branscombe’s eldest daughter, she showed me her copy of the Pilgrims’ score.   When I asked if I could borrow the score to make a copy of it, she replied that she did not want the music to leave her house.   That was fine and I understood. Over the ensuing years I studied the Pilgrims of Destiny score in the Special Collections section of the New ...

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...