Hobart Senior High School - Memories Yearbook (Hobart, IN)

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D Q MUSIC Q P a P USIC is the smile of education, sinoothiiif? out frowns, giving dimples in jilaee of wrinkles, rippling echoing tones in place of curses. All pretense to educate without music is like pretending to be rapturously happy while wrinkling the face with scowls and frowns and clogging the voice with wrath or hate. We, who are mo.st interested in this department, insist first, la.st, and all the time that music is an educational essential not to he neglected because other school activities are more insistent. i [usic is as real in its service to humanity as the multiplication table. Why does a boy whistle when he needs heart? Why did the soldier hoys sing “Dixie” or “iMarching Through (ieorgia” when there was danger of over- much thinking of home or picturing the morrow’s carnage. Why doesn’t the hoy repeat the Multiplication table? i Iusie is the moulder of human mood and aspiration. It possesses the sold of most people as nothing else does. It plays its part in the greatest incidents and issues of life, war, politics, love and religion. It cannot he considered a non-es.sential, having no important place in education since the world’s social reformers declared that “for good or ill, music is one of the greatest forces in human eye, individually and colleetively. ” The members of Ilobaid High School have for many years en.ioyed the privi- lege of having special sujiervision in music. Ituring the last two years we have been fortunate in having a most competent director, Miss Kllwyn Roper, whose untiring efforts jilus enthusiasm in her work has brought about any degree of success that we have attained. The aim of our deiiartment has been to ac- (juire a larger appreciation and understanding of the best that the world’s great masters have given us. We are of the one and two talented while they were gifted with thousands. It is for us to find the “Sesame” that will admit us into the realm of beauty and culture. As a practical means towards this end, the attainment of “Appreciation,” we have an orchestra and a chorus. Nearly every one of the High School has taken an active part in one or the other. The orchestra, which ivas organized by i Iiss Roper last year has done splendid work and has appeared on many of the school programs and several of community interest, such as the Farmers Institute and the l Iemorial services. Interesting talks were given to the chorus by iliss Roper on the orchestra, explaining the families of instruments, their peculiar construction and history, their distinctive tone quality and its uses in the great orchestral works. One of the most pleasing results of both the orchestra and chorus work has been an awakened appreciation and interest in the Chautamiua and the Lyceum platforms. The chorus worked with enthusiasm and as a reward of their efforts put forth, we won third place last year in the Lake County Contest. Considering P Cl

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Fusic 1914 — Hobart High School 1910 Northwestern Conservatory 1913 L

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£ Q= Q 0 the size of the sehools with whieh we eoinpete we were (|uite elated. i rozart’s “(Jloria’’ will always thrill us for we learned to love this wonderful work. Otlier choruses we have studied this year ai ' e S ' chuiuann’s “(iypsy Life”: ‘‘Hat- tie of Dawn” from ‘‘Martha ; ‘‘Toreador” from ” from ‘‘Caiauen” and ‘‘The Siu»’ers” by (Jaul. The girls’ (piai ' tette, also orffauized last year has improved » ' reatly and ils members appreciate the additional ti ' ainin ’ fi ' iven to them by Miss Roper, who has taken much of her own time outside of school hours. We have enjoyed siiiijin to;tethei- and since we are all Seniors it will be with I ' egret when we api)eai’ for the last time Commencement niji ' ht. Our most successful performance of the year Avas the Christmas recital , ’iven in honor of our ])areuts. The frreeus and soft lig-hts in the Auditorium made an ideal settinjj for the girls in their simple Avhite dreses as the proces- sional mai ' ched fi’om the library doAvn the wide center aisle to their places. It seemed to create the true Christmas spirit right at the beginning and tbe stu- dents sang and played better than they had e ' er done before. FolloAving is the program as it was given and an extract from the Hobart (iazette Avhieh tells bettei ' than I, how the program Avas received. IJLLIAX KEILMAN. 0 HOBAKT HIGH SCHOOL ORCHESTRA 82