'4 THE MICHIGAN DAILY SUNDAY, MARi1 8, 1951 THE MICHIGAN DAILY N VIVACIOUS, VERSATILE: Youth Chorus Director Has Many Jobs By DAVIS CRIPPEN Vivacious, white-haired Mar- guerite V. Hood, director of the May Festival's Youth Chorus, is : a woman of many titles and jobs.j In addition to the chorus of 400 children, Miss Hood is an as- sociate professor of musical edu- cation in the School of Education, supervisor of music in the Ann Arbor Public schools and president of the Music Educator's National Conference. * * * THE POSITION as president of the music educator's group is the one which really complicates Prof. Hood's existence. The con- ference is made up of 20,000 mu- sic teachers in all parts of the country and as president of it Parof. Hood is required to do a great deal of traveling. When she was elected to the presidency she finally bowed to the fact that there are only 24 hours in a day and resigned as director of the Women's Glee Club, a job she'd had for five years. Appropriately enough w h e n Prof. Hood left, the chorus pre- sented a suitcase to her. * * * ANOTHER EFFECT of her new job is to make it just a little harder to do all her work. Look- ing at the pile of papers, on her desk, Prof. Hood said sadly, "I'm never caught up, but I'm usually not as far behind as this." Prof. Hood is a native of Drayton, N. D., the daughter of Noted Arist, WiI e E1jO Active Life * * .4 4. [(ape!! Likes 'Good Jazz', Painting William Kapell, brilliant young pianist who has thrilled critics and audiences throughout the world and thus earned himself the title of the pianist with the "seven league boots career," will be featured here in the May Fes- tival. This "seven league boot career" officially began in July 1942 when Kapell made his first appearance with the Philharmonic Symphony in New York. * * HE PERFORMED Katchatur- ian's new Soviet-Armenian con- certo. Because he performed this concerto so often, in addition to recording it, Kapell acquired the first of his many nicknames, "Katchaturian Kapell." But of course, Kapell's reper- toire does not begin and end with Katchaturian. He has ex- cited audiences with the mas- terpieces of all the old masters. Kapell, however, enthusiastic- ally believes in the international importance of American compos- ers and prefers to play the music of today. "The old masters are wonder- ful, but I think some of the musi- * * * WILLIAM KAPELL * 4 THEBOM STATES VIEWS: Famous Singer Supports Suffering Opera-Goers L After years of struggling with librettos and a frustrating tangle of foreign languages, long-suffer- ing opera-goers today can expect a word in their behalf from at least one quarter of the musical world. Blanche Thebom, leading Me- tropolitan Opera mezzo-soprano, recently stated: "When a tired business-man goes to the theatre he does not want to read a lib- retto to understand the story. He wants to relax and enjoy himself as he would at a Broadway musi- cal. And," she added,. "there is no reason why he should not." * * * PENNSYLVANIA - BORN Miss Thebom has other characteristics as unique as her stand on present- ing opera in English. A comparative newcomer to the Metropolitan Opera, this long-tressed singer was a primj secretary in a Canton, Ohio of- fice just 10 years ago. Then, with very little vocal' training but a naturally fine voice, * 4 * she attracted one of Marian An- derson's former accompanists, who, pleased with her singing, launched her upon her career by arranging for additional musical instruction and establishing con- tracts. THEN, FROM HER New York debut in January, 1944 to her de- but with the Royal Opera in Stockholm nearly six years later, where she was called back for a record-breaking 45 'curtain calls, Miss Thebom has established her- self firmly within the ranks of the operatic "big time." However, beyond the scope of her vocal versatility, Miss The- bom evidences traits ranging from a love of love to a love of the kitchen and collecting ree- ords. Perhaps the influence of her Swedish-born parents has much to do with the culinary abilities she possesses. This dark, sophis- ticated woman often delights her epicurean friends with such dish- es as her personal favorite, Swe- dish meatballs. * * * BOASTING AN extensive music library, Miss Thebom can fre- quently be found haunting music shops where she carries on an avid search for rare and second-hand albums. She also enjoys movies, con- certs of all kinds, and, especi- ally, dances. Her specialties . along this line are the rumbas and sambas. When; queried concerning the amorous side of her life, Miss The- bom responded: "Love is only a game to all my opera characters; so I never get my man. However," she says flashing her famous smile, "I reserve that ... for real life." OSCAR NATZKA « * 4 * * PROF. MARGUERITE V. HOOD * * * * * * a country doctor who attended o learns part of the work chosen Oscar Natzka, Noted Basso To be Featured in Festival C. what is now Wayne University Medical School. She received her B. A. from Jamestown Col- lege in Jamestown, N. D. and later did graduate work at Northwestern and the Univer- sity of Southern California. In 1942, Prof. Hood came here to take up her duties in the School of Music, the Ann Arbor school system and with the Youth Cho- rus. * * * IN TAKING OVER the direc- tion of the Youth Chorus, Prof. Hood became head of an organi- zation which had been a feature of the May Festivals since 1913. To prepare for the festival each year, every pupil in the Ann Arbor grammar schools for the festival. The best sing- ers are then picked and re- hearsals start. After numerous unit rehearsals and some ten full rehearsals the group is ready for its festival ap- pearance. WITH THE EASE of an experi- enced politician, Prof. Hood avoid- ed a question about which of her many activities she liked the best. There was one thing about the Youth Chorus that stuck in her mind. "The kids are always falling in that fountain between Hill Audi- torium and the League," she said smiling. "It's our biggest prob- lem."# . i 3 Tossy Spivakovsky is the type of artist who prompts violin in- structors to tell their students, "Listen, but don't look." Spivakovsky has gained wide- spread recognition for his unortho- dox and individual manner of holding the bow-arm of the violin in a, high, angular position. IT IS THIS unique manner which has occasioned the violin instructors' admonitions. However, many wonder if he gets his tone and technique by this unusual pg- sition. Wherever he. gets it, the critics agree that Spivakovsky's violin has power. Born February 4, 1910 in Odes- sa, the young Russian concert artist soon commenced his mu- sical training, which he began in Berlin. He continued his for- mal training and developed into one of the outstanding European violinists prior to World War II. Spivakovsky arrived in the Uni- ted States in the fall of 1943, when he as invited to play the New York premiere of the Bartok violin concerto, under the auspices of Artur Rodzinski, then director of the New York Symphony. * * * THE PREMIERE brought Spi- vakovsky over-night fame. He has appeared during the ensuing years under the foremost conductors in the country. Oscar Natzka, well-known bass- baritone, will appear as one of the featured guest artists in this sea- son's May Festival. Natzka, a native New Zealander, was hailed in his first United States appearances in 1948 as an "important addition to the Ameri- can musical scene". Since then he has had three successful seasons with the New York City Opera, and has toured the countries "down under", in addition to mak- ing guest appearances throughout the United States and Canada. * * * THE SIX FOOT two inch singer, who served six years in the Cana- dian Navy, from which he emerged a Commander, was a blacksmith before he was a basso. He was only a young boy when his father died, and to support his mother he became a blacksmith's apprentice. At first swinging a 14 pound hammer was hard work for a 15 year old, but in time it is said to have endowed him with the, great lung power necessary for his singing. After his voice matured Natzka began to develop a bass of great power. * * * NATZKA WENT to London and studied there under Albert Garcia, grandson of the teacher of Jenny Lind. From the studio of his teacher he went directly to Covent II Garden where he began a long series of leading roles. Under the baton of Sir Thom- as Beecham, he appeared in "Rigoletto", "Die Meistersinger", )"Faust" and "The Serf". In 1940 he returned to his homeland to take part in the Music Festival of the New Zealand Cantenary Celebration. + Following this he enlisted in the Canadian Navy where he served for six years doing patrol and con- voy duty on corvettes in the North Atlantic. * * * MUSIC CAME into his life again when he was transferred ashore to sing in a musical revue, "Meet the Navy", in which he appeared more than 1,000 times all over England, Allied Europe and Can- ada. Natzka's appearance in Ann Ar- bor will be one of his current set of guest appearances throughout the county. He will be heard here May 4 and 6, singingas solo- ist with the University Choral Union. BLANCHE THEBOM Eileen Farrell Gains Fame, y B ek n rdto a ue y Braig*rdtonlRl I cians writing today will be old masters of tomorrow." * * * the Program Highlights THREE SYMPHONIES: BERLIOZ Fantastic Symphony; SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 1; and CRESTON Symphony No.3. THREE CONCERTOS: CHOPIN Piano Concerto No. 2; PROKO- FIEFF Piano Concerto No. 3; and SIBELIUS Violin Concerto. THREE CHORAL WORKS: VERDI "Manzoni" Requiem; LAM- BERT "Summer's Last Will and Testament" (American premiere); and American Folk Songs (orchestrated by Dorothy James). ARIAS FROM 10 OPERAS, including "Carmen," "Herodiade," "Marriage of Figaro," "La Boheme," and "Die Fledermaus." -t Eileen Farrell is the exception to the singing rule as far as getting a big break in show business goes. Usually unknown artists reach their brand-new audiences through * . . EILEEN FARRELL * * * the mediums of radio, records, concerts and television appear- ances. But not Miss Farrell. She made her first hit on radio alone in 1941 by impersonating Rosa Ponselle on NBC's "March of Time." This single appearance brought a contract from CBS. The next year she had her own radio show and in the summer of 1943, she became the singing star on the "Prudential Family Hour." But singing with its hard work is no novelty to Miss Farrell's f am- ily. The child of an ex-vaudeville singing team, her mother started to give her singing lessons when she was very young. As Miss Far- rell's singing progressed, her mother sent her to New York to study under an old friend who was teaching there. Just two years later, her radio career began and since then, her remarkably powerful and clear voice has thrilled thousands. She made her formal concert debut last October in New York. Off-stage and off-mike, Miss Farrell is Mrs. Robert Reagen. She likes to knit and cook and justifies her healthy appetite by saying "I need lots of stamina if I'm going to be a Wagnerian soprano someday. I just have to eat a lot." Completely unaffected about her singing success, Miss Farrell ad- vises young singers to "be natur- al, above all, be natural in your singing." WITH THE GENERAL appre- ciation in the United States has arisen a consciousness in our composers that they are not only composers but American compos- ers, the young pianist once said. When 28 year old Kapell finds time, he takes up paint and brush to enjoy himself at his favorite hobby. Kapell also likes "really good jazz." His desire for only the best jazz stems from a firm belief that "people ought to seek out the finest that is offered in life." ,, A The University Musical Society presents TWO GREAT PIANISTS I WILLIAM KAPELL Spectacular Pianist will play Sunday, May 6 at the MAY FESTIVAL Contrary to the popular con- cept of a violin virtuoso, Spivak- ovsky is modest, self-effacing, handsome, athletic and well- built. 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