The late 19th and early 20th centuries dawned a golden age on the American musical scene. As immigrants from Europe brought their love of music to this country, clubs, opera companies and organizations devoted to promoting and hosting musical performances flourished. Founded in 1881, the Quincy Musical Club featured concerts by local musicians playing the works of classical composers. This club also held an annual National Music Week to kindle a passion for music in Quincy and sponsored junior and juvenile clubs for school children and budding musicians.
For several years, the Quincy Musical Club had been losing money and in 1922 reorganized as the Quincy Music Club; it began looking for a way to continuing having concerts without going into the red. A nationwide Civic Music Association Plan had begun a few years earlier, which brought well-known performers to smaller cities like Quincy to bolster their communities and enhance American culture. The Quincy Music Club formed a committee to look into sponsoring a local civic music association. This committee stipulated that at least 600 season ticket holders would be needed over the next three years to make this plan viable.
Some prospective members questioned why individual concert tickets could not be bought instead of season passes. The potential Quincy Civic Music Association (QCMA) responded in a Sept. 16, 1924, article in the Quincy Daily Herald. “The Civic Music Association recognizes no such selfish attitude. Those wanted as members of the Association are those who want music for music’s sake, who want Quincy musically alive and having the very best talent there is to offer. Join all or attend none.”
In one week, though, in the fall of 1924, more than 600 local residents joined with memberships that would continue for the second season unless formally withdrawn. The board adopted the Civic Music Association Plan that year and elected Mrs. John T. Inghram II as president; and she would continue in this role for 20 years. Born Lilian Brown in Quincy, Mrs. Inghram studied at the Quincy Conservatory of Music under Professor Henry Bretherick and graduated in the Conservatory’s first class in 1888. She later joined the faculty there teaching voice and would eventually serve as president of the Conservatory.
Opera had long been a musical favorite with Europeans, and it continued in the United States well into the 20th century. With many German and Italian families living in Quincy and strong supporters of the QCMA, opera thrived here, with singers like Enrico Caruso and Friedrich Weidemann esteemed as national heroes.
The first concert of this newly-founded organization took place in the Empire Theater on October 8, 1924, and featured the leading tenor of the Chicago Civic Opera Company, Charles Marshall. He sang both operatic selections, such as “La Donna e Nobile” from “Rigoletto” and “O Sole Mio” from “Willoughby,” and more popular songs like “Little Boy Blue” and “Dr. McGin.” Enthusiastic audiences returned him to the stage for three encores. Miss Edith Orens, a young contralto, also performed that evening and, among other operatic numbers, sang “Gavotte” from the opera “Mignon.”
The second concert of the maiden season shifted directions with “Tony Sarg’s Marionettes.” Known as “America’s Puppet Master” and the “Father of Modern Puppetry,” Sarg entertained audiences by singing while working his marionettes. He gave a free matinee performance for children that fostered the QCMA’s goal of introducing young people to music.
The season finale on May 5, 1925, featured a double performance by the Little Symphony of Chicago. Before the evening concert, the Symphony played a matinee for 1200 Quincy children, many of whom were students of music educator, Paul E. Morrison, and attending their first concert. This initial season ended with $3 in the treasury and the need for 150 new members to fill every seat in the Empire Theater and continue for a second season.
Local newspapers tried to promote the QCMA. The Quincy Daily Herald on May 6, 1925, ran an editorial that stated: “The Civic Music Association is felt to be the biggest thing musically that ever happened to Quincy and a final solution of a means of bringing good music here without a deficit. The Little Symphony with its exquisite music proved a fitting finale for a most successful season.”
To increase memberships, the QCMA invited residents of nearby towns to join and allowed house guests of current members to attend at a reduced price. The public answered the call, and by the second season the Association had over 800 members. Many patrons requested Amelita Galli, one of the 20th century’s most popular operatic singers, but her manager declined citing the Empire’s limited seating capacity. The QCMA, though, did secure Claudia Mizio, hailed by St. Louis Symphony director, Rudolf Ganz, as the “greatest concert singer of the age.”
The Quincy Music Club merged with QCMA in 1926, and the following year the Civic Music Association Plan formally chartered the local organization. The next season the QCMA had more than 900 members and moved their concerts from the Empire Theater to Quincy High School’s auditorium at 14th and Maine. In March 1929, Dema Harschberger, head of the Chicago Music Association Plan, told the Quincy Music Club: “The Quincy Civic Music Association is doing more for young people of the city in a musical way than any organization connected with the Civic Music Association Plan for the country.” The Great Depression did not hamper Quincy’s passion for musical excellence, although for three years local musicians played QCMA concerts. In 1937, during the depth of economic turmoil, QCMA had nearly 1,000 members and held four concerts a year.
The Quincy Civic Music Association is the oldest existing local cultural organization devoted to professional performances and a founding member of the Quincy Society of Fine Arts, the first community arts council in the United States. As it nears its 100th season of hosting concerts, the Quincy Civic Music Association continues bringing world-class musicians to audiences and contributing to our rich musical heritage.
Inghram, Lillian Brown. “The Report of C.M.A. President.” Quincy Herald-Whig, May 26, 1941, 4.
“Join Civic Music Association.” Quincy Daily Herald, Sept. 16, 1924, 4.
“Join Civic Music Association; Only One Week is Allowed.” Quincy Daily Herald, June 9, 1924, 12.
“Little Symphony Engaged to Return Next Year, After Two Concerts at Empire.” Quincy Daily Herald, May 6, 1925, 13.
“Music Association Inaugurates New Plan for Bringing Arts Concerts to Quincy.” Quincy Daily Herald, June 9, 1924, 12.
“Noted Tenor in Brilliant Concert Marks Opening of Civic Music Association.” Quincy Whig Journal, October 9, 1924, 4.
People’s History of Quincy and Adams County: A Sesquicentennial History. Edited by Rev. Landry
Genosky, O.F.M. Quincy, IL: Jost & Kiefer Printing Co., 1974, 212-13.
“Quincy Musical Club.” Quincy Herald, May 5, 1881, 3.
“Quincy’s Advancement in Music is Notable, Says Speaker Friday.” Quincy Herald Whig, March 23, 1929, 2.
