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The Women's Symphony Orchestra of Chicago was a American, operating under the auspices of the Women's Symphony Orchestral Association, and Illinois entity, flourished from 1925 to 1948 (or 1952).

Movement

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Selected personnel

Founding musicians

Violin

• Bernice Richards (1906–1983), violinist, became "concertmistress" (sic) of the orchestra. She married, on June 18, 1927, in Indiana, Harold Melville Little (1898–1981).
• Gertrude Early (née Gertrude Alice Early, never married; 1899–1968), violist and violinist. Early had been, around 1923, a violist with the Chicago Civic Orchestra, which was conducted by Frederick Stock.

Violincello

• Lois Bichl (née Lois Colburn; 1898–1975), 1st cellist. She studied in New York with (i) Carl A. Brüchkner (1868–1951), cellist with the Chicago Symphony for 41 years, and (ii) Bruno Steindel (1866–1949) and in Chicago with (iii) Alfred Wallenstein (1898–1983). She was married twice, both to musicians, first, on March 11, 1920, to Frederick Thomas Langan (1877–1940), xylophonist and second, on August 21, 1925, to Edgar Anthony Bichl (1885–1968)

Flute

• Adeline Schmidt (née Adeline Elizabeth Moore; 1879–1936), flutist, who, on December 27, 1910, in Milwaukee, married Christian Carl Martin Schmidt (born 1883). Schmidt was a graduate of the Bush Conservatory.

Clarinet

• Lillian Poenisch (née Lillian Juanita Poenisch; 1897–1981), principal clarinetist. She also, in 1937, founded the Chicago Women's Concert Band and served as its conductor. Poenisch went on to teach at the American Conservatory of Music. Poenisch was a graduate of the Bush Conservatory.

Founding non-musicians (patrons)

• Kathryn Funk (née Kathryn Frances Meeker; 1869–1941). Since 1895, she had been married to Clarence Sydney Funk (1866–1930). She was a vocalist. Kathry had a degree from the Chicago Musical College.

Selected officers

• Helen Morris (née Helen Martha Conover; 1894–1960), Chairman. On May 31, 1916, she married Edward Morris, Jr. (1893–1972), son of Edward Morris, co-founder of Morris & Company, and grandson of Gustavus Franklin Swift, founder of Swift & Co.
• 1938: Marie Morrisey Keith, aka Mamie Keith, aka Mrs. Roy Keith (née Marie Louise Bosse; aka Bosseé; ), formerly a contralto from Flatbush, Brooklyn, who also, from 1947 to 1951, was President of the National Federation of Music Clubs, through which, since 1952, an endowed Marie Morrisey Keith Scholarship is awarded every four years. She married twice, first, on November 16, 1910, in Flatbush, Brooklyn, to George Sims Morrisey (1878–1958); second, on June 12, 1020, in Egremont, Massachusetts, to Royden James Keith (1881–1955), a 1904 Stanford graduate and pioneer in phonograph business.
• 1940s: Ann Shakman (née Anne G. Gerbin; 1900–1974), President. On March 26, 1927, she married James Glikauf Shakman (1894-1986). James went on to become Vice President of Pabst Brewing Company.
• 1943: Sydnie Ullrich (née Sydnie Irene Smith; 1889–1966), President. On May 15, 1935, she married Albert Hans Ullrich in Chicago – her second marriage, his third.
• 1945: Beatrice Spachner (née Beatrice Anne Teller; 1902–1982), President (also a professional violinist). She had also been concertmaster of the Women's Symphony. On October 17, 1926, she married John Victor Spachner (1898–1974) in Chicago. In 1940, Beatrice Spachner was Vice President of the association.
• Helen A. Byfield (see "Other musicians," below)
• Miss. Anita Sky Eyes, Vice President. She was an Indian princess of Cherokee descent.

Musicians

Violins and violas

• Lelia Boettcher Wright (née Lelia Katherine Boettcher; 1909–1998), violinist with the orchestra in the 1930s. She graduated from the Northwestern University School of Music in 1931 and was a member of the orchestra for 12 years. She was married to Warren Finch Wright (1899–1963) (Phi Beta Kappa, University of Wisconsin, 1921), a university professor.
• Caroline Harnsberger (née Caroline Thomas; 1902–1991), violinist, who went on to become a author of 16 books. She was married to Audley E. Harnsberger (1899–1981).
• Fanny Hassler (née Fanny Ackerman Arnstein; 1907–1996) was a graduate of the American Conservatory of Music in both piano and violin. In 1947, she was the founding conductor of the Chicago City Wide Symphony Orchestra. She married on July 12, 1933, in Chicago, Edwin Bern Herman Hassler (1906–1981).
• 1947–1950: Anita V. Lipsky (née Anita Vinograd; 1908–1958), violinist. She was married to Harry Lipsky.
• Mary Carol Penn (maiden; 1922–1908), violinist, studied six years at the American Conservatory of Music, from about 1940 to about 1946, where she had studied violin with Scott Willits. Penn was a violinist with the Chicago Civic Orchestra and also a member of the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra in Chicago and the Quad City Symphony Orchestra Davenport, Iowa. In North Carolina, Mary was a violinist in the Asheville, Hendersonville, and Western Carolina Civic Symphony Orchestras. She had been married to William J. Henigbaum (1921–2017), who also studied at the American Conservatory of Music. William Henigbaum's mother, Helen Katherine Gobble (maiden; 1897–1951), also was a graduate of the American Conservatory. One of Mary's her daughers, Nancy Honeytree, is a Christian musician.
• Anna Marie Gamble (née Anna Marie VanDuzer; died 2001), violinist, graduated from Chicago Musical College in 1928, two years after beginning with the Women's Symphony. On March 18, 1929, she married Slade le Blount Gamble (1904–1983) in Chicago.
• Emily M. Volker (maiden; 1904–1997), violinist who had studied with Guy Herbert Woodard (1881–1969) of the Bush Conservatory, went on to become a music educator in the Chicago Public Schools, where she distinguished herself as a acclaimed conductor.
• Nona Marsic (née Wenonah Mae Lowell; 1906–1993), violinist who, after graduating from Lake View High School (in the Lake View neighborhood) in 1923, went on to earn, in 1937, a Bachelor of Science degree in Education from Northwestern University, focusing on European history, and then, studied at the Chicago Conservatory of Music. She had taught elementary school in Chicago, but in 1941, moved to Saint Petersburg, Florida, where, for 10 years, she taught school and continued, even in retirement to perform violin.
• Fanny Paschell (née Fannie Bernice Paschell; 1919–2000), violinist, had performed as soloist with the Chicago Symphony. She began studying violin at age 5 with her Bohemian-born-turned-American father, Pius Francis Paschell (1878–1963) – born in Rokitnitz, which is now Rokytnice v Orlických horách of the Czech Republic. Fanny married twice, first, on December 21, 1942, in Chicago, to Homer Dodge Caine, Jr. (1917–2001), a son of music teachers. Caine was a violinist and pianist who became a music educator, notably at Kansas State University from 1966 to 1987. Fanny married again in 1952, to Robert Bruce Chase (1912–2001), also a violinist with the Milwaukee Symphony and a composer. One of their daughters, Stephanie Chase, is a virtuoso violinist. A granddaughter, Becki Newton (born 1978) is an actress known as Amanda Tanen on Ugly Betty and Quinn Garvey on How I Met Your Mother.
• Teruko (Terry) Akagi (born around 1930), Seattle-born violinist of Japanese descent, in 1949, became a member of the Kansas City Philharmonic, and in 1952, the St. Louis Symphony. A 1940 graduate of Broadway High School in Seattle, Akagi went on to study at the University of Washington. While there, she was, with other Japanese Americans, interred at a camp in Minidoka War Relocation Center in Hunt, Idaho. Undeterred, she went on to earn a master of music from Oberlin in 1945, with the assistance of a scholarship from the Japanese American Student Relocation Council. On June 4, 1960, in Los Angeles, she married violinist Joseph Brooks (né Josef Schoenbrun; aka Josef Sunny; born 1934), who had joined the St. Louis Symphony in 1952. The two of them are listed in discographies of pop artists. Together, they lived in Kerrville, Texas, until her death.
• Signe Elgquist (née Signe Elizabeth Elgquist; 1902–1991), violinist, who married on August 31, 1929, in Chicago, to Bertram A. Davidson.
• Ann Hawryliw (1909–1995), violinist, born in Saskatchewan, but of Ukrainian ancestry, became a U.S. naturalized citizen October 20, 1939., violinist Caroline Solfronk was a witness on Ann's Petition for U.S. Citizenship on April 24, 1939. In 1943, Hawryliw was singled out as "probably the youngest member of the violin section of the Women's Symphony Orchestra." On May 29, 1943, Hawryliw married Michael Kenneth Cham (1914–1962) in Crown Point, Indiana. She married again in 1981 to Holon Butler Matthews (1904–1993) in Phoenix.

• Willie Belle Holloway, violinist, and also a contralto. Holloway was African American. In 1949, she was a member of the Women's Symphony and a violin student of Ramon Girvin (1883–1963) of the Chicago Conservatory.

Possibly affiliated with:

Dorothy O'Bryant (NBC dramatist and director), daughter of Professor J.W. Bell of Kentucky, onetime supervisor of colored schools in Kentucky and Annie Gertrude Bell (née Dougherty; 1895–1970) of Chicago.

Sara Bell, soprano, formerly of the ABC and Columbia Broadcasting System choral group, "Sharps and Flats"

The Harmonettes (broadcast radio vocal group)

Harmonettes in 1954 (Chicago Defender October 9, 1954): 954. Princess Stewart, Dorothy Herron O'Bryant, J. Mayo Williams, Sara Bell, Annalee Boyd

Jessye Sims, dramatic soprano, former member of Charles Keet, an a cappella group

Princess Stewart (née Princess Theodosia Stewart; 1922–1967), contralto and pianist (blind). She was married to William Edward Asbury (1902–1975).

A City Called Heaven: Chicago and the Birth of Gospel Music , by Robert M. Marovich, University of Illinois Press (2015)

• Unrelated: "Stalin's Home Town Reminds U.S. Visitors of Laramie, Wyoming," by Eddy Gilmore (AP), Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro, Kentucky), April 10, 1949, sec. B, p. 9 (accessible via Newspapers.com)

Violincello

• Blanche Kryl-Weber (née Blanche Libuse Kryl; 1906–2003), cellist, who, in 1931, married Henry Kliment Weber (1896–1975). She was a niece of conductor Bohumir Kryl.
• Adele Wehman Bayne (née Mary Adele Wehman; 1916–1997), cellist, harpist. On May 29, 1946, she married William Henry Bayne, Jr., in Alexandria, Virginia.

Brass

• Helen Kotas Hirsch (de) (née Helen Anna Kotas; 1916–2000), french hornist. She married, on March 14, 1949, Edwin Frederick Hirsch, M.D. (1886–1972), who had been the widower of Marion Sharp Lane (maiden; 1896–1945). She holds the distinction of being the first woman hired full-time in 1941 by the Chicago Symphony.

Flute

• Caroline Solfronk (née Caroline Katherine Solfronk; 1909–2006), flutist, join the Women's Symphony at its inception in 1925. She also, on occasion, conducted the Women's Symphony. She studied flute with Georges Barrère at Juilliard which she attended briefly after high school. Solfronk was also a member of the Bohemian Women's Trio of Chicago. Solfronk played flute for the Chicago Symphony from 1943 until 1945, when the regular player returned from active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces. She was a Chicago native, notably a 1927 graduate of Harrison Technical High School. She married, on November 13, 1937, in Chicago, August Zach, with whom she was only married briefly. She then married, on June 11, 1943, in Chicago, Joseph Frank Vacha (1909–2000).

Oboe

• Ruth Meyers debuted as first chair oboist in the with the Women's Symphony in the Auditorium Theatre November 2, 1937, with Frank La Forge as guest conductor.

Unknown

• Sally Sheffield (1902–1909) became a longstanding music educator in the Los Angeles public school. Beginning 1951, she became conductor of the Southern Pacific Railroad Concert Band, aka Gray Line Band of Los Angeles through about 1965. She was thought to be the only female conductor of an industrial band in California and among a few, if any, in the United States. On May 27, 1949, she married Ezra Walter Sauerman (1901–1983) in Los Angles.

• Helen A. Byfield (née Helen Williams Abbott; 1885–1963), married since 1912 to Arthur Frederick Byfield (1882–1959), was a former president of the Women's Symphony Orchestra of Chicago. She was influential in music for over 50 years. Among other things, she, with Frederick Stock, co-founded the Peninsula Arts Society in Door County, Wisconsin, which, since 1952, has sponsored the Peninsula Music Festival.

Percussion and piano

• Norma Zuzanek (née Norma Adalaide Zuzanek; 1915–2016), pianist, had a degree in piano from the Chicago Musical College. She helped her friend Lillian Poenisch found the Women's Symphony. On May 1, 1944, in Chicago, she married Holly Reed Bennett (1892–1973).
• Helen Swan Padberg (née Helen Louise Swan; 1919–2017), violinist. On February 6, 1943, she married Frank Thomas Padberg, Sr., MD

• Helen Morton Bennett (née Helen Morton; 1921–2008). On June 19, 1943, she married to Reid M. Bennett, Jr. (1921–2009) in Chicago. She majored in music at the University of Tampa.

Harp

• Margaret Sweeney Erbes (née Margaret Ellen Sweeney; 1902–1968), harpist, who had also played harp with the Chicago Symphony. She married, in December 22, 1951, Philip Henry Erbes (1906–1971). Margaret studied harp with Enrico Tramonti (1874–1928) and was a faculty member of the American Conservatory of Music for many years.

Guest soloists

• Lillian Waller (née Lillian Magnuson; 1901–1084)), pianist, was the first soloist with the orchestra. On August 23, 1924, she married Percy Harold Waller (1897–1972) in Indiana.
• Leone Kruse (maiden; 1898–1973), opera singer, notably, beginning 1927, with the Chicago Civic Opera, then went on to the Metropolitan Opera, the National Theatre Munich, and the German Opera Theater at Prague. Before launching her career, Kruse had been a scholarship student at the American Conservatory of Music. She later was on the faculty at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music.
• Mae Doelling Schmidt (1888–1965), pianist

Conductors

In 1938, at least five women were conducting ensembles in Chicago: Lillian Poenisch of the Chicago Women's Concert Band, Gladys Welge of the Woman's Symphony, Ebba Sundstrom, Symphonietta, and Fanny Arnston-Hassler of the conductor of the Women's Concert Ensemble

1924–1927:Richard Czerwonky conducted for one season only, the 1926 inaugural season

1927–1929: Ethel Leginska (1886–1970) appointed Sundstrom, the concertmaster, to serve as Assistant Conductor

1929–1939: Ebba Sundstrom (née Ebba Irene Violet Sundstrom; 1896–1963), who, in 1920, married Victor Theodore Nylander (1887–1962)

1938–? Gladys Welge

1940–1944: Izler Solomon

1944–1945: Jerzy Bojanowski (1893–1983)

Other conductors

• Elisa Kuyper, Dutch composer and conductor ???? (which Women's Orchestra?)
• Nicolai Malko (1883–1961)
• Thaddeus Joseph Kozuch (1913–1991)
• Harry John Brown (1924–2000), guest conductor, who from 1949 to 1954, conducted the Tri-City Symphony (later named the Quad City Symphony) and, in 1959, became the founding conductor of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. His mother, Libasther, was a singer and vocal teacher.

March 3, 1948, auditorium of Oak Park and River Forest High School

• Parthenia C. Vogelback (née Parthenia Carmichael; 1893–1961), guest conductor, who was a concert pianist. On Christmas day, 1920, she married William Edward Vogelback (1890–1960) in Chicago.

Women's symphony orchestras timeline

• 1888: The Fadettes of Boston was founded, originally composed of eight women musicians, grew to twenty by 1898.
• 1898: Mary Wurm (1860–1938) founded and conducts a women's orchestra in Berlin.
• 1924: Elisabeth Kuyper (1877–1953) founded the American Women's Symphony Orchestra in New York City.
• 1912: At a time when nearly all major symphony orchestras are exclusively male, violinist Eugene Ysaÿe (1858–1931) was an advocate for women playing in orchestras and averred that their musical abilities were equal to that of male musicians. On his advice, Henry Wood admited four (six?) women, including the violist/composer Rebecca Clarke (1886–1979), into the New Queen's Hall Orchestra. By 1918 Wood had 14 women in his orchestra.

“ I do not like ladies playing the trombone or double bass, but they can play the violin, and they do. ” — Henry Wood

• 1923: Margaret Bonds performs Florence Price's Piano Concerto with the Chicago Symphony. The occasion marks two firsts for African Americans. Price is the first African American woman to have a work performed by a major symphony and Bonds is the first African American to perform as soloist with the Chicago Symphony.

• 1932: Orchestrette Classique, a chamber orchestra, was founded in New York City by Frédérique Petrides, who conducted, and ran through 1943.
• Around 1934: The British Women’s Symphony Orchestra was founded.
• 1935: The Cleveland Women's Orchestra was founded, and today, is distinguished as the oldest women's orchestra in the world.
• 1937?: Commonwealth Women's Orchestra of Boston
• 1936?: Philadelphia Women's Symphony
• 1940: The Montreal Women's Symphony Orchestra was founded and flourished through 1965.

• 1981: The Women's Philharmonic, a professional orchestra based in San Francisco was founded. It disbanded in 2004. In 2008, the Women's Philharmonic Advocacy was formed "in order to recognize the achievement of The Women's Philharmonic (1980-2004)."

See also

Liane Curtis, Brandeis University musicologist, who is president of Women's Philharmonic Advocacy, isn't so sure. "They might not want to (push too hard in that direction)," she says. "They don't want to be pigeonholed."

• "The Slow Silencing of Sexism at the Symphony". By Tom Jacobs. Pacific Standard. September 14, 2018 (retrieved May 24, 2019)

Notes and references

Original copyrights

Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 3, Musical Compositions, New Series, Library of Congress, Copyright Office

Drama and theater

Catalog of Copyright Entries, Parts 3 & 4, Dramas and Works Prepared for Oral Delivery, New Series, Library of Congress, Copyright Office

Copyright renewals

Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 3, Musical Compositions, Third Series, Library of Congress, Copyright Office

Notes

Elena Moneak (maiden; 1890–1968) was one of a small body of artists – the others included Lucie Bigelow Rosen (1890–1968) and Clara Rockmore (1911–1998) – who extended the frontier of theremin music. Elena married twice, first on March 14, 1917, in Chicago to Henry Howind (né Heinrich Friedrich Ernst Howind; 1879–1957), with whom she had two daughers. Her second was on April 30, 1939, to Frankie Snite (né Frank Joseph Snite; 1877–1962).