Begun in 1887 in Akron by a group of women with "proven musical ability", Tuesday Musical is now an anchor arts organization in our community. Tuesday Musical’s early history reflects a trend of women organizing music clubs in communities across the country.
On November 9, 1887, Celia Baker, wife of George Baker — a prominent businessman who was president of the Akron Electric Light and Power Co. — invited a group of women with “proven musical ability” to her home at 610 E. Market Street, Akron.
No minutes exist from that first meeting, but it is likely that the women discussed ways to advance the appreciation of music in Akron and provide performance opportunities for themselves and other women in the area.
We’re not sure if there were 13 or 18 young women attending, but we do know that they named themselves as the "Tuesday Afternoon Club."
For more than 100 years, Tuesday Musical’s members programs were hosted in the city’s stately private homes. Once Gertrude and Frank Seiberling completed their country estate, Stan Hywet Hall, in 1915, it became a favored venue for the club’s activities. Still today, Tuesday Musical’s members meet monthly for performances and refreshments in venues throughout the community, including Stan Hywet Hall.
A few decades after forming, Tuesday Musical expanded its mission to present concerts by world-acclaimed musicians. Global greats on our series over the past 136 years have included Nelson Eddy, Vladimir Horowitz, Leontyne Price, Imani Winds, Van Cliburn, Midori, Marilyn Horne, James Galway, Renee Fleming, Itzhak Perlman, Wynton Marsalis, Beverly Sills, Joshua Bell and Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Yo-Yo Ma, Arthur Rubenstein, and many more.
Tuesday Musical has now expanded even more to offer robust education and community engagement programs. Today, we take nearly all of our guest artists beyond the concert stage and throughout NE Ohio to share their talents and inspirations with children and adults of all ages.