Carl Schurz High School - Schurzone Yearbook (Chicago, IL)

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. X-fp vs- 2 , , .,,, . A.. .. ,.... .,.. M--. .,.,. . ...WM .. .,., . ,A.. . ,,.,. . . . ..,,, Vw s , -I up ss p it N I H : R -' ', - ' '- X' 1- g::::'..5v-'- .4-:-: - . - r M ,.,,- Q tl X ku sry .. ,..,, :.., st. s..-..t, -.:s,:.s: ..,. I ...X Q :K ,:x.,.c3E3 .,,., ., - ,K ..... ,J .K 5 I.. ..., K .,..,, . .. ...:. . ..,.: - ......,., Mr. Mason Grants an Interview E threaded our way among anvils, sundry fires, furnaces, and all manner of metals until we found Mr. Mason engrossed in instructing a pupil in the fine art of the forge. A far cry from his position as director of one of the finest High School orchestras in the city! Unabashed, we plied him with questions, and he answered us, his voice colored with his native Scotch burr. . . I was born in Scotland and went to school there. At the Academy, an establishment similar to the American High School, I studied to be a mechanic. I was always studying some kind of orchestral instrument and when I went to London, joined a military band. My regiments were the Argyll Sutherland Highlanders, Scotch, and the Third West Kents, English. As a young man, I had no especial ambition in mind, as I never knew exactly what I wanted to be, but at this time I traveled a good deal in Great Britain and on the continent. I later married. One of my children was born in Scotland and the other two in America. I am proud to say that they are all graduates of Schurz. I have conducted the Schurz orchestra since 191.0 when the school was founded. There are only six teachers here now who were present when the school was opened. Two of the finest men I have ever known are the late Mr. Lagerquist, my good friend and colleague, and Mr. Wetzel, who in addition to his other accomplishments, is a fine musician. I My ambition is to see Schurz an even greater center of music than it has been in the past. 4 Page Twelve

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nf: ww. lf,-V., wg X f u l fiffff, ifiiilw T a We x i . . it I f f ill.lXMQl,gf ll lf lx Music T The Language of the World INCE the dawn of history music has been the universal language of all mankind. It has known no particular race, serves no special religion, and embraces no particular na- tionality. The Egyptians, the Greeks, and the Romans, the three leaders of early civilization, all considered music one of the most important parts of their cultural education. In it they found an outlet for thoughts and ideas which.could not be expressed through literature, sculpture, or drama. From the lullaby at the cradle to the final hymn at the funeral, music plays an important role throughout the lifetime of man. Joy, sorrow, and love have all been indelibly recorded in musical selections that every one has heard at one time or other. The soothing effect of music when we are troubled or ill, the blood tingling sensation we feel while listening to a stirring march, or the exhilarating and refreshing spirit that prevails when we hear the cheerful notes of the first song- birds of spring-all these we have experienced. How dull and empty our lives would be if music were suddenly banned! Fortunately mankind has been blessed with many gifted disciples of Apollo. Mozart, Wagner, Liszt, and Bach were just a few of the masters who presented to the world their translation ofthe universal language. They have done for music what Homer, Keats, Shelley, and Shakespeare have done for poetry. just as poetry is musical thought, so music is the ideal expression of heart and soul. Eugene Oban. Page Eleven

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