Towson University - Tower Echoes Yearbook (Towson, MD)

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I that college spirit in music? paniment might each be written by indiixidnals work- l Do not feel that you must master the job by your- ing cooperatively. self. The words, melody. harmony, and pianoaccom- I-Iere's to a melodious answer to our singing need! Opera and The Radio KATHRYNE PETROFF It is Saturday afternoon, Beside the radio is a chair Q and a table. On this table lies Ernest Newman's book, Q Stories of the Great Operas and Their Composers. At 1:55 p. m., with expectation. I turn on the radio, pre- pared to listen to the presentation of Georges Bizet's colorful opera Carmen by the Metropolitan Opera I Company. From the first gay notes which are heard in I the introduction to the tumultuous tragic ending of this ii' fast-moving opera, I am held enthralled by the beautiful 'l music which is sung by the Metropolitan's ablest artists. Witlr Ernest Newman's book before me, I follow the 4 l I lg, action of this opera, which, between the acts, is inter- spersed with pertinent remarks by the announcer, Mil- li ton Cross. Besides listening to 'ACarmen, other Saturdays are re- , served for the presentation of the operas Siegfried, La I Traviataf' 'fManon, Lucia di Lammermoorn and oth- li er favorite dramas dear to all music lovers. There are 1 millions who turn to their loudspeakers on Saturday aft- il ernoons and with this vast multitude I feel a friendship. a common bond - the love of fine music. i The presentation of operas over the radio offers many I advantages to the public. People who would never be able to hear or see a full-length opera have the opportu- I nity to listen to a great variety of musical dramas. XVe are able to hear Milton Cross. the renowned music com- mentator, who enlightens us with interesting informa- I 1 I . Q gtion and sidelights on opera stars, conductors, compo- Sers, and their works. Frequently between the acts Mr. Cross has celebrities who enliven the program with amusing and informative anecdotes of their careers ap- pear with him. The listener is able to concentrate on the . music and to give his full attention to it. If he wishes to hear only the music and is interested in the melody I alone, the radio is the most satisfactory medium through which to hear an opera, for there are no scenery nor peo- ple to detract from his attentiong thus. he may hear the good and the weak parts of the opera with a keener and if more appreciative nature. 'I On the other hand, one misses the beauty and majesty ,of the setting. whether it is the elaborate scenery of Carmen or the simple surroundings of Die XValkure. YVhen one listens to a radio presentation. he does not ri have the opportunity to witness the performers in their capacity as drainatists. Finally, there is another attrac- XOCTOBER - 1939 V l tion which the unseen audience misses. that of seeing the conductor lead his orchestra which creates the back- ground and the mood for the players and for the listener. The radio has opened a new and a more prosperous field for musicians, for since the advent of Saturday aft- ernoon performances there has been a definite increase and appreciation of good music experienced by the pub- lic. This nation-wide audience is demanding more and better accomplished artists. There has been a definite change in the attitude of the public toward opera. From the time of the VVorld VVar there had been a decline in its interest in classical music. Since the advent of the opera on the radio the trend has led to a greater degree of love of the fine music of the masters. Perhaps the person who regards this type of music as uhigh-brow may turn to his radio while a Saturday matinee is in progress and may hear an aria, some dance music. or a martial air which catches his fancy. His in- terest is arousedg he decides to listen further. comfort- ably settles himself and prepares to enjoy to the ut- most, this heavenly music. As hc is not present at the Metropolitan. his imagination must be his sight and he finds himself transferred to a far-away land of which the singers are a part, and lives with them the lives which they are portraying. In speaking about opera on the radio. one must not forget Mr. Edward Iohnson, General Manager of the Metropolitan Gpera Company, whose untiring zeal and love for music have led him to work so that the mass of people may develop a keen interest and appreciation for that which is closest to his heart. Ile has acquired talent froni all corners of the world: Lilly Pons is Frances gift to us, Marjorie Lawrence is a native of Australiag Kir- sten Flagstad, the superb heroine of the XVagncrian cy- cle. hails from Norway, Iussi Bjoerling is from Sweden: Ian Kiepura. from Poland: Gailiano Xlassini. from mu- sical ltalyg Bidu Sayaou comes to us from Brazil. By ex- tending the opera season in New York he has rendered a great service to the American people in that more op- portunities for hearing the Saturday afternoon perform- ances have been possible. Mrs. Belmont. president of the Metropolitan Opera Guild, has done much to stimulate interest in the opxgi by urging the vast radio audience to send its I-piinwiis and criticisms on any aspect of the Metropolitan Opera 4

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a conversation with two visiting Americans who lend them cigarettes in a Madrid cafe. The soldiers speak of their families whom they have not seen for months and whom they will probably never see again. Granting that the sketch is not of the propaganda preaching type, the simply told tale of these soldiers. who at the sound of an alarm, march away to another attack. vividly fulfills its purpose. I To those of you to whom a single story by Dorothy Parker is a treat. this collection of twenty-four stories will be enjoyable reading throughout. THE SWORD IN THE STONE DIARY D1 PEPPE J. H. White: The Sword in tbe Stone. New York, G. P. Put- nam's Sons, 1939. To all of you who are continually looking for some- thing different, new, out of the ordinary. I present a newcomer upon the shelves of the Library Hction de- partment - The Sword in the Stone. Here is a book in which humor, fantasy, and adventure are the ingre- dients of a delightful story. The locale of the story is England in the days just pre- ceding the reign of the famed King Arthur. King Ar- thur himself is the principal character, but. unexpected- ly. you find him in the story not as a king or even as a young man, but as a youngster. More surprising than this, you discover first to your bewilderment and then to your amusementj. that the medieval knights. inagi- cians, squires. and witches all converse with one another in very modern dialogue. The plot consists of a whimsical account of the child- hood of King Arthur who is introduced to you as The XVart. The XVart is tutored by Merlyn. the magician, who, among other things, conjures up at will such arti- cles as the daily newspaper, a fountain pen, and cigar- ettes. Due to his magic powers, Merlyn changes The XVart into various birds. fish. and animals so that his young student may obtain his education through first- hand knowledge. The young King Arthur, again with the help of the magician. pays interesting visits to the fairies and to Robin Hood. However, we End that the queen of the fairies fits the description of a modern cn- chantress, while Robin Hood typifies, in speech and action. the athletic young Englishman of today. A very droll incident occurs when The XVa1't falls into the clutches of a witch whose cottage displays a brass plate warning the public that she will not tolerate hawkcrs, circulars, or income tax. For your own pleasure and enjoyment, I heartily urge you to place The Sword in the Stone on your reading list. 18 The Glee Club MARGUERIT13 XVILSON 'AV I E NNA XVOO DS are cool and green. chorused a group of students from the Auditorium. O, soldier, soldier. won't you marry mc? Those voices were fa- miliar. at least to some of the students at S. T. C. It was 3:lS on Monday afternoon and that could only mean one thing: a C-lee Club rehearsal. Miss VVeyforth was there. The group responded en- thusiastically to her direction and we began the year with a good rehearsal. The vacancies left by the gradu- ates were noticeable, but we knew they would soon be Hlled. However, it is not all work and no play in the Clee Club. Parties and picnics are on the schedule as well as rehearsals. The annual Clee Club picnic was held in the Clen on October 9. Our supper was cooked by Norris XVeis, the official chef, and tasted one hundred per cent. good. After supper we sat around the campfire. Lee Mc- Carriar and Mr. VVeis, now in another role. led the group singing. Aside from old favorites we sang a new version of The Old Mill Stream. At seven o'clock. although we were reluctant to leave, the Tower clock told us that it was time to put out fires, fold the blankets, and say good-night. On September 20 the upper class Clee Club mem- bers sang for the Freshmen for the first time this year. The songs selected for that assembly were: The Lord's Prayer - - - Malotte Tales from the Vienna Wfoods - - Strauss Choral from Die Meistcrsinger - XVagner It is not certain whether it was our performance or a previously acquired love of singing on the part of the Freshmen that caused so many to try out. At all events, this year the competition was very keen, there being many who are good Clee Club material. About fifty have been selected thus far. They will become full fledged members at the next rehearsal. A Singing Need IVREDERICA BIEDERM.-xNN CONS I DE R I NC thc age of our Teachers College, and the emphasis that is laid on the study of music, we should certainly have more college songs. Our Alma Mater is one song of which we can truly be proud. Its lovely original melody and words place it in the ranks of thc Encst college songs. But after all. this is a college of over five hundred students! NYhy can't we have songs for various occasions? YYhy not express TOWER LIGHT

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That her eltorts have been successful has been proved by the fact that many times Milton Cross has read to us some of the letters sent by the listeners. The radio has become the most important medium through which are presented to the public world news. comedy. tragedy. and. most frequently. music. XVhen the Metropolitan first broadcast its operas several years ago. music lovers hailed this iimovation in the hope that it would stimulate a desire in the people to cultivate a taste for fine music. Thus far, these hopes have been amply rewarded. This renaissance has extended its scope to include the symphony and chamber music. The glorious works of the most eminent composers are being presented to the public and are becoming increas- ingly important because people are demanding to see and hear operas which have gone into obscurity such as Beethoven's Fidelio and Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoorf' One week we hear a German music drama by XVag- ner, next an Italian opera by any one of Italy's illustri- ous composers. such as Verdi. Puecini. Rossini. Then we have a setting in France. lapan. or Russia, as in Prince Igor. or in America. A'The Girl of the Colden XVest. To go beyond that, we have presented on the American stage the opera Aida, composed by the Ital- ian. Verdi. which opera's locale is in Egypt. The Metropolitan Opera Company recognizes no dis- crimination in race or creed. It adheres to the policy that music is for everyone to hear and to enjoy. This exten- sion of the musical sphere is another proof of the free- dom which is the very essence of music. Music is essen- tially universal - any who endeavor to restrict it by raising national and racial barriers serve only to place a death sentence on creative expression. Opera on the radio has enriched the cultural experience of the Amer- ican citizen and is of definite value as an instrument of music education. International Relations Club IEANNE KRAVETZ YOUAIE READ of renovations and face liftings. XYell. we've changed our name! Perhaps you have heard of the League of Young Voters - of its interesting meet- ings and pleasant social affairs. The same will continue. We have the same setup, the same purpose. However. we are now the International Relations Club. XYith a new name. we want many new faces. So Freshmen. join now and learn about the world today, meet well-known speakers, join in interesting discussion. Xliiden your horizons by joining the I. R. C. 20 The Orchestra AT OUR tirst rehearsal. Orchestra members had the feeling that it was the Orchestra of 1938-1939 with the calendar turned back to lune. All of the chairs were in- tact with familiar faces at each desk. But with a second look we saw we were welcoming new members, some of whom we saw at new additional desks in the violin sec- tion and one. a new organist. Besides those of us re- hearsing now, a number of students are trying out for the instruments owned by the college. These students will come into the Orchestra as fast as they succeed. YVe'll tell you the winners in due time. Our new music stands are most welcome: and we do need them, with the largest Orchestra ever. The upper- elassmen remember that sudden shower which fell as we played last Commencement. It dampened us then, but the new stands are our reward, so let bygones be by- gones. and we will hope the new ones are never in a rain! Seniors. join your wishes to ours when you think of May Day and Commencement. Our work for the year is under way with rehearsals for the assemblies. a broadcast. and a program for the State Teachers Association claiming attention. XVith so many students learning instruments. the director hasn't had time for our group ensembles, but before long we hope you will hear them practicing as now you hear some of the brass section, if you come to school before nine. XVe have some plans for our part of the Towrzn LIGHT also. Perhaps you would like to know more about what it takes to be a good Orchestra member, so we are going to try to tell you. XVe hope you like it. NVatch this space in your next issue! EVOLUTION OF A FRESHMAN ESTA B.-xBL.-iN Terrific trouble it is indeed To make a plant grow from a seed. Every farmer knows 'tis so - And yet, the little seedlings grow. In the same manner we may note That a Freshman is but a tiny boat. If you Seniors acknowledge that as true Some day. perhaps. t11ey'll be ocean liners . too. A young husband was trying to teach his nervous wife to drive a car. They were on a narrow country road and she had been driving only for a short time when she ex- claimed: Take the wheel quickly. darling, here comes a tree! TOWER LIGHT