Acadiensis/Volume 1/Number 4/Two Acadian Musicians
Miss Elizabeth White,
of Halifax, N. S.
Miss Frances Travers,
of
St. John, N. B.
Two Acadian Musicians.
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ISS ELIZABETH WHITE, whose portrait forms the frontispiece to this number of Acadiensis, commenced the study of the 'cello under Herr Ernst Doering, in her native city of Halifax. She continued her studies in Boston with Alevin Schroeder, first 'cellist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and a member of the famous Kneisel Quartette. She played in the Weil stringed quartette, and in the Siebelt stringed quartette for several years, and is first 'cellist and soloist of the Halifax Symphony orchestra, an orchestra of forty members, including the best musicians in Halifax. Miss White is also on the staff of the Weil School of Music, and of the Mount Vincent Academy, where she has been teaching for the past five years. Among the well-known artists whom she has assisted in Halifax are Watkin Mills, the eminent English basso, Charlotte Maconda, and Katherine Fiske.
Miss Frances Travers, whose portrait also accompanies this article, is probably one of the finest soprano singers the Acadian provinces have yet produced.
From early childhood she evinced great musical ability, combined with a remarkable voice. After receiving the best musical training that was to be obtained locally, she went to New York, where, for a considerable period, she was the pupil of Mme. Yon Klenner, one of the most successful of the many renowned voice builders to be found in that city. During the course of her musical education Miss Travers' voice was frequently heard in concert, oratorio and church music, and many and flattering were the notices which she received from the musical crimes of New York and that vicinity.
Upon her return to St. John, at the close of her course of study with Mme. Von Klenner, Miss Travers was heard for the first time by the musical public of this city, in a grand concert, in which she was assisted by Miss Nanno Stone of St. John, by Miss White, who was the subject of the earlier portion of this sketch, by Mr. John A. Kelly, and by Mrs. J. M. Barnes, who by her sympathetic accompaniments contributed much to the success of the entertainment.
From a St. John daily we reproduce a part of the very favorable criticism which the entertainment evoked:
The elite assembly that filled the Opera House to its utmost seating capacity last night, at the concert given by Miss Frances Travers, was unanimous in conceding it to be the most successful musical entertainment that St. John critics have had the pleasure of hearing for a long time. For over two hours the programme and its able exponents held the large audience entranced, and there was no one who did not breathe a sigh of regret at its conclusion. Every number was heartily encored, and the ladies were the recipients of several beautiful floral gifts.
Miss Elizabeth White of Halifax has a wide reputation as a 'cello player, and by her artistic, finished and sympathetic renditions, evincing a thorough and loving mastery of her difficult instrument, she more than justified the flattering accounts of her which have reached here.
Concerning Miss Travers in the same event, another St. John paper commented editorially as follows:
Not alone the sweetness of her voice, its flexibility and its power, but the personal charm of an unstudied manner, and the graciousness of unspoiled girlhood, won for Miss Travers many friends. The applause that greeted her reception of the favors generously bestowed on her, was as much for the cordial pleasure evinced by the recipient, as for the quick recognition of the favor of the public.
Regarding these Acadian musicians, still another critic has remarked that{{mdash
Judging alone from the recital, Miss Travers is gifted with the voice and the musical temperament that will place her high in the ranks of those who have refined and beautified the world of song. Her voice is clear, rich and full; it is flexible and under splendid control; and in several difficult numbers she displayed a wondrous charm of correct phrasing and intonation.
Miss White, the 'cellist, who belongs to Halifax, has played in St. John before, but not in concert, and she did supply a very important and delightful feature of the concert. She plays with splendid expression, her intonation is perfect, and her bowing free and strong. The fair 'cellist, indeed, carried off a large share of the honors so generously bestowed by the audience.
It has been claimed that we, in the city of St. John, are not a musical people; that we do not produce as many good singers as we should, in proportion to our population; that we lack the spirit of appreciation of music of a higher order.
To the larger part of this assertion the writer feels that he must take exception. That we are behind our sister city of Halifax in the opportunities afforded, not only for a musical but for a general education of a higher class, cannot be disputed. The presence in Halifax of several institutions of learning, including one devoted entirely to musical training of a superior order, has had undoubtedly a marked effect upon the musical taste and cultivation of the people of that favored city.
We sincerely trust that the time when the city of St. John may be equally favored may not be far distant; and that while we may not produce many musicians of the marked ability of the subjects of this article, we may nevertheless give to all those who may so desire the opportunity, at their own door, for higher cultivation in this wondrous art.