In 1876 David Webster Loring moved from Boston to San Francisco. At the urgent request of his friends he organized the Loring Club to develop the better knowledge of male chorus music. 60 men were regular participants, 250 were associates. He also organized the Schumann Club with the same aim for music for female voices. While the Schumann Club did not survive him, the Loring Club went on until 1990. The Club was even called upon from time to time to swell the ranks of the San Francisco Opera Chorus.
We mention this for two reasons: first, because we received a call to the effect that the Loring Club's music could no longer be housed at the Paramount Theater Library in Oakland, asking whether would we like to look at it. Of course would! Ben Johns, our Education Director and self-described geek who would love this kind of project, went over and went through 5 of the 65 boxes of music, finding some pieces that should be performed.
Then - with the media frenzy about choral singing between Glee, and Lifetime's movie Christmas Choir, and the NBC choir competition just this week (hey, perhaps it's not a coincidence that Jay Leno - on the same network-took us on last week) you would think that singing in choruses had just been invented!!!!
We're totally thrilled about all the publicity for the music we love, but we're also proud to be part of a very long tradition, which, in San Francisco, goes back to the creation of the Loring Club in l876. Probably before - we bet that those gold miners sang - long before reality TV was there to catch it! We doff our hats to the gents in San Francisco who went before us- no doubt in white tie and tails- and who probably gave a great Christmas concert. We hope we're around for over a hundred years too!
The Paramount Theater where Ben went on his rescue mission to the Loring Club's music...
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment