Music Meets Drama

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...