Concerted Effort; Tuesday Musical celebrates 120 years of fine culture in Akron

Akron Beacon Journal - November 5th, 2007

by Mark J. Price

Akron wasn't exactly the center of sophistication. In the late 19th century, the old canal town was ankle deep in soot and slop.

It took a refined group to drag the city out of the mud and make it respectable.

Thirteen young women met on a Tuesday in November 1887 to form a social club that would change the culture of Akron. They initially got together to sing for their amusement, but they set the stage for the world's greatest performers.

Celia Baker, the wife of Akron Electric Light and Power Co. President George Baker, invited a dozen acquaintances to her East Market Street home.

The affluent guest-the wives and daughters of leading businessmen-shared a love of music. Present were Zella Adams,Sybil Caskey, ione Edgerton, Sybil Fair, Martha Herrold, Alma Little, Harriet Seiberling Miles, Sarah Motz, Jessica Otis, Frances Robinson and Lillie M. Saunders.

Completing the group was gifted vocalist Gertrude Penfield Seiberling, newlywed wife of F.A. Seiberling, the future co-founder of Goodyear.

They called it the Tuesday Afternoon Club in honor of the day they rehearsed. They soon renamed it the Tuesday Musical Club, which evolved into today's Tuesday Musical Association of nearly 200 members. Not many Akron groups can say they've been around for 120 years.

Brimming with talent from the start, Tuesday Musical required its members to audition, a practice that continued for more than a century.

In its early years, the club met in members' homes, formed ensembles for public recitals, established a choral section, donated money for music education and brought in outside groups for concerts. It developed a reputation for excellence.

Tuesday Musical drew world-class performers to Akron. Over the decades, its concerts filled German-American Music Hall, Akron Armory, Goodyear Theater, Akron Civic Theatre and E.J. Thomas Hall.

Tuesday Musical brought the Cleveland Orchestra to perform in Akron every year but one since its inception in 1918.

The group introduced local audiences to such artist as Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova, French soprano Lily Pons, Polish pianist Arthur Rubinstein, American opera singer Beverly Sills, Australian soprano Joan Sutherland and Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti.

Retired Barberton librarian Jean Swinehart has been involved in Tuesday Musical since she was a little girl. She recalls accompanying her mother, Gertrude Swinehart, to club events in the 1930's.

"I went to everything," she said "When I was a child, I got carried. And when I grew up and was big enough, I walked."

Women wore hats and gloves to social functions. The gloves matched the purse. The purse matched the shoes. The hats were splashes of creativity.

"It wasn't considered dressed up then," Swinehart said. "It was considered de rigueur. When you went out of the house, you had on a complete outfit.

Tuesday Musical members were devoted to providing a premier concert series, she said, and worked hard to sell subscription-series tickets. "We wanted people to be exposed to music provided by the very highest of artistes , as they were known in those days," she said.

Akron resident Betty Sloan, who taught music for 30 years in Akron Public Schools, became associated with Tuesday Musical in 1961.

"I'm always in awe of what has kept it going while other organizations like it just faded away in other cities and places," she said. "It seems like it was just a group of people who were determined that there would be great music in this place we live."

She joined the club because she loved classical music and wanted to be around others who shared her enthusiasm.

"When I was a member, everyone was proficient at something-either an instrument or vocally," she said. "That's what the group was."

Sloan enjoyed going to programs in the music rooms of members' lovely homes.

"I remember pinching myself because I thought"This is a little like back in the ages of Mozart," she said. "I felt I was back in a time capsule. You just dropped back, and here you were in this wonderful small setting with people who loved what you did, and hearing this glorious music."

Past President Marcianne Herr, former director of education at Akron Art Museum, said Tuesday Musical has had a big impact on the community.

"When you look at the lineup of artist we've brought just on the concert series, we've had everybody who was anything," she said.

In addition, the organization has introduced children to artist they might not otherwise have encountered. Tuesday Musical sponsors the Brahms Allegro Junior Music Club for students in elementary school through high school. It also has a voucher program that provides complimentary tickets to students.

"They're bringing them into the concert hall, and they love it," Herr said.

Since 1955, the group has awarded more than 500 scholarships to Ohio college students majoring in music.

"Some of our winners have gone on to major careers," she said.

Fairlawn resident Pat Sargent, retired art coordinator for Akron Public Schools, is one of Tuesday Musical's newer members, but appreciates its long history.

"This group has meant so much," she said. "It has been the source of culture."

Tuesday Musical has changed with the times-including eliminating the audition requirement-but it remains committed to bringing the greatest performers to Akron, she said.

"When you think about the size of our city or economic condition, it's a total disconnect," she said. "Our arts are just the richest thing that we have....This group brings the world's best to Akron."

This week is a good example. Tuesday Musical will present cellist Yo-Yo Ma with pianist Kathryn Stott at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at E.J. Thomas Hall. Tickets are $45 and $60.

"There is nobody playing any instrument in the world better than Yo-Yo Ma, and he is our next concert," Herr said.

Sloan said artist often praise Akron for its wonderful crowds. The word has spread that this is a good place to play, she said.

"We have a very knowledgeable audience," Sloan said. "They know good music, and they appreciate it."

Those 13 young women in 1887 couldn't have imagined how their little club would transform the cultural landscape. Because of them, the old canal town grew decidedly more sophisticated.

Other clubs have gone silent, but Tuesday Musical continues to hit high notes.

"We must have done something right," Swinehart said.

Tuesday Musical has brought some of the world's greatest performers to Akron. Here is a small sampling over 120 years.

NAMES :Van Clibum, Nelson Eddy, Eileen Farrell, Zino Hofmann, Marilyn Home, Vladimir Horowitz, Helen Jepson, fritz Kreisler, Yo-Yo Ma, Nino Martini, James McCracken, James Melton, Yehudi Menuhin, Midori, Luciano Pavarotti, Anna Pavlova, Itzhak Perlman, Lily Pons, Leontyne Price, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Mstislav Rostropovich, Arthur Rubinstein, Arthur Schnabel, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Rudolf Serkin, Emestine Schumann-Heink, Beverly Sills, Isaac Stern, Joan Sutherland, Lawrence Tibbett, Richard Tucker, Mitsuko Uchida, Mary Van Kirk, H. Evan Williams, Efrem Zimbalist. Groups : Boston Pops, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Canadian Brass, Chanticleer, Cleveland Orchestra, Emerson String Quartet, Empire Brass, Guameri Quartet, Imani Winds, Juilliard String Quartet, King's Singers, Kronos Quartet, Metropolitan Opera, Mantovani Orchestra, New York City Opera,Philadelphia Orchestra, Robert Shaw Chorle, Russian Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo String Quartet, Vienna Choir Boys.