Gena Branscombe - July 26, 1977

Today marks 45 years since Gena Branscombe left this world.  Surviving her were daughters Gena Tenney Phenix and her husband, Philip, Dr. Vivian Tenney, two grandsons and her extended family known as the Branscombe Choral. 

 

Gena founded the Branscombe Choral in 1934 and remained its conductor, composer and arts administrator until 1954.  Looking over the twenty years of Branscombe Choral programs one can easily see numerous women who sang every concert while others sang only a few concerts. 

 

After the disbanding of the chorus, Gena wrote letters and notes to members sending them articles about her and her music career.  There were always good wishes sent to the members, comments and questions about their families and more. 

 

Recently my friend Peggie Biscaye Oury, whose mother and two aunts were long time members of the Branscombe Choral, mailed me a note she found in her mother’s files which also included Gena’s New York Times obituary.  The note was written by Gena Tenney Phenix.  Like mother, like daughter, Gena Tenney Phenix took up the mantle of letter writing and keeping in touch with former Branscombe Choral members. 

 

Many times I have written about the Choral members cherishing their musical experience with Gena Branscombe.  They kept their programs, choral folders, recordings, articles, newspaper clippings and letters.  Thank goodness they did this as many items have been given to me. I’ve made friends with three members who are now deceased, their children, grandchildren and nieces and nephews.   

 

On this the anniversary of Gena Branscombe’s death, I thank her for choosing me to carry on her legacy.  What a journey and honor it has been. 

#BringingBackBranscombe

Baton

The setting….1944 ….Leonia, New Jersey….the Biscaye home.  The dinner guests that evening were Gena Branscombe and her husband, John Ferguson Tenney.  Ruth Biscaye, for many years a loyal member of the Branscombe Choral, was preparing dinner for her friend and respected conductor. 

Ruth’s children, Pierre and Peggie, had attended the many Choral concerts at Town Hall and the Broadway Tabernacle Church.  Among the family’s prized musical possessions was sheet music autographed by Miss Branscombe with one dedicated to Pierre and Peggie.  Most prized, an autographed original manuscript for a choral arrangement of “There was a King of Liang.”

That night at dinner Miss Branscombe gave one of her conducting batons to Pierre and another to Peggie.  These batons had led the Choral in one of their concerts that their mother sang! 

Fast forward 70 years, all the above items still exist and thanks to Pierre and Peggie, they are in my possession.  In my May 31, 2012 blog entry, I told the story of Pierre contacting me and Peggie sending me music and pictures.

In early June, Peggie Biscaye Oury visited her daughter and family in New York City.  We managed to schedule a visit and had lunch together.  As Peggie looked over the items in my Gena collection, she would recall how Miss Branscombe’s walk made her look as though she were floating from place to place.  Elegant and kind were words used to describe the conductor who touched their family’s lives.

What had come as a surprise a few weeks before Peggie’s visit was that in his attic Pierre had found the baton Miss Branscombe had given him in 1944.  He wanted to know if I still wanted it……my immediate answer was, of course, “Yes!”  The baton arrived nearly two weeks ago along with a hand written note explaining the provenance of this gift given to him in 1944……72 years ago. 

The baton with a slender cork bulb, once held in her hand, has scratches on it.  The shaft of the baton is wood with a small chip missing on the tip.  A baton that is old….now an antique.  Held in her hand, part of her being and emotions, with this baton Gena inspired her Branscombe Choral to higher realms of music making!

What continues to touch my heart is the people who knew or worked with Miss Branscombe have kept their music, pictures, programs, letters and a baton.  How she touched and inspired their lives is why these possessions were cherished for many years; a part of her continued to be with them. 

This is a quote attributed to Leonard Bernstein, “If one (the conductor) uses a baton, the baton itself must be a living thing, charged with a kind of electricity, which makes it an instrument of meaning in its tiniest movement.”