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McFERRIN, MERRILL:
Leading Met Baritones
To Perform in Concert
_..
ROBERT McFERRIN
rill is now entering his 11th sea-
son with the Metropolitan. Mer-
rill will appear in the evening
performance on May 4.
Merrill played semi-profession-
al baseball before embarking on
his career with the Metropolitan.
In 1945, the baritone won the
Metropolitan Opera Auditions -of
the Air and made his debut at the
Metropolitan, where he has since
given distinguished performances
in nearly 20 major roles.
Trained entirely in America,
Merrill is one of the newer type of
American singers, prominent in
both operatic and popular music.
Recording Wins Award
In 1946, one of his recordings
received the Music Critics Award
as the best vocal classic record of
the year.
That same year, he was chosen
by Toscanini to sing a major role
in "La Traviata."
The baritone's performance
helped to make music history for
"La Traviata" was the first of Tos-
canini's famous opera broadcasts
to be released for publication on
records.
Merrill is a frequent guest on
radio and television shows and in
1952 he entered motion pictures
as a featured artist in Para-
mount's "Aaron Slick from Pump-
kin Creek."
His recordings range from oper-
atic arias and albums to "Ol' Man
River" and "The Whiffenpoof
Song."
Unique Past
Attributed
To Festival
(Continued from Page 1)
time to time also engaged im-
portant out-of-town soloists as
well as ensemble groups.
On several occasions in the ear-
ly 90's the Boston Symphony Or-
chestra performed. During most
of this early period, from four to
six concerts were given annually.
Festival Inaugurated
In the spring of 1894, under the
energetic leadership of Albert A,
Stanley, the First May Festival
was inaugurated. It came as a cli-
max to the Society's activites for
the year.
For this event, the Boston Fes-
tival Orchestra, under the baton
of Emil Mollenhauer, was brought
to Ann Arbor for a festival of three
concerts. In the final concert of
Choral Union Chorus, with solo-
ists from New York, joined forces
in the presentation of' Verdi's
"Manzoni" Requiem This Festi-
val was the first music event on
so grand a scale ever to be held
in this entire area.
This concert was well-patron-
ized, not only by local music lovers,
but large numbers came to he city
from all over Michigan and sur-
rounding states.
The following year, the number
of concerts was increased to four.
A few years later it was further
increased to five and still later to
six. The Boston Festival Orches-
tra performed annually for the
first 11 years.
In the Festival of 1905, the Chi-
cago Orchestra under Frederick
Stock, took part and continued to
do so for 31 years. Beginning with
the Festival of 1936, the Phila-
delphia Orchestra has been heard
annually in all six concerts.
Old 'U' Hall
Up to 1913, the concerts and
festivals were held in old Uni-
versity Hall. Since that time they
have taken place in Hill Auditor-
ium, funds for which were be-
queathed to the University by a
loyal alumnus, the late Arthur
Hill.
This auditorium, in its early
days, was frequently referred to
by such distinguished musicians
as Ignace Jan Paderewski ag "the
finest music hall in the world.-
It has a seating capacity of
more than 4000 people and on oc-
casions, counting standees, con-
certs have been attended by ap-
proximately 6000.
One of America's youngest bass-
baritones, Donald Gramm, will ap-
pear with the Boston Symphony
in the afternoon concert on May
5.
Gramm has appeared with the
Boston Symphony under Charles
Munech since February, 1954. He
has appeared with them in 11 per-
formances of Berlioz' "Damnation
of Faust" in such places as Bos-
ton, Lenox, Mass., Carnegie Hall,
the Brooklyn Academy and Wash-
ington, D.C.
The same orchestra has enggged
him for the bass role in Bach's
Mass in B Minor for four con-
secutive performances, both in
Boston and at Tanglewood. He has
also sung in Beethoven's Ninth
Symphony with the Boston Sym-
phony.
Orchestra Appearances
The bass-baritone appeared with
such orchestras as the Philadel-
phia Orchestra, Buffalo Sym-
phony, the Minneapolis and Pitts-
burgh Symphonies, Chicago Sym-
phony, Los Angeles Philharmonic,
the Little Orchestra Society for
New York and the San Francisco
Symphony.
Born in Milwaukee, Gramm be-
gan his musical training there. Af-
ter graduation from high school,
he spent four years at the Chica-
go Musical College as a full schol-
arship student.
For three of the four years, he
won the Oliver Ditson Award 4nd
then topped this accomplishment
with a Paul La Valle Scholarship.
Auditions for Part
A few months after completing
his studies in Chicago, Gramm
went to New York for a short vis-
it. He heard that Italy's foremost
conductor, Victor de Sabata was
in New York looking for a bass
soloist for a performance of Verdi's
"Requiem" in Pittsburgh.
Gramm called the famous con-
ductor and asked for an audition,
Only after receiving an audition
for the next day, did he realize
that he was totally unfamiliar
with the Verdi score.
On the morning of the audition,
Gramm purchased a Verdi Requi-
em score and studied the difficult
basso role in one hour and a half
before singing for de Sabata.
Only after being accepted for
the part, did Gramm admit that
he had never attended a perform-
ance of the work and had only
seen the score an hour and a half
before the audition.
De Sabata was greatly impress-
ed and said, "Only the very very
young can be so foolishly coura-
geous and only the very, very few,
true musicians could have come
through with such flying colors."
After his appearance* in the
Verdi "Requiem," Gramm's ca-
reer gathered speedy momentum
and a young singer was launched
upon his career.
A few years after beginning his
career, Gramm was awarded first
prize by the Chicagoland Musical
Baritone Enjoys
Successful Career
DONALD GRAMM
Festival. This prize led to many
appearances on Mutual's "Chi-
cago Theatre of the Air."
Gramm has become familiar to
thousands of Americans through
his radio and television appear-
ances. He has been seen and heard
in NBC-TV operas coast-to-coast.
During the 1955-56 season, this
artist was faced with a large
challenge. He sang the all-import-
ant role of the Devil in "The
Golden Slippers" by Tschaikowsky
in its American premiere on the
night before he made his first
appearance in the role of Figaro
in Mozart's "The Marriage of
Figaro."
Gramm is one of the most popu-
lar artists of the major summer
music Festivals in North America.
He has appeared at the Berkshirt
Music Festival, the Hollywood
Bowl and the Brandeis Festival of
the Creative Arts.
4.
'4,
Song."
proximately 6000. De Sabata was greatly impress-
F,
the Creative Arts.
I
An Afternoon Filled with an
Array of Artistic Talent
. . 0 .
SOLOISTS
MARTHA LIPTON .
DONALD GRAMM .
GINA BACHAUER
JOHN KRELL
. . . contralto
. . bass-baritone
. pianist
. . . .
piccolo
. .
. . . .
and
THE UNIVERSITY CHORAL UNION
1.
THE SUNDAY AFTERNOON PROGRAM
Concerto in A minor for Piccolo and Orchestra .....................Vivaldi
Soloist: John Krell
"Five Tudor Portraits," a Choral Suite in Five Movements
for Contralto, Baritone, and Orchestra .......... . R. Vaughan Williams
Featuring: Martha Lipton, Donald Gramm and Choral Union
Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 83 . .*..........................Brahms
Soloist:
Gina Bachauer
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