Celebrating 90 Years of Enriching Lives Through Music

Celebrating 90 Years of Enriching Lives Through Music

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On April 17, 1931 the Modesto Symphony Orchestra held its first concert to an audience of more than 1,200 at the First Presbyterian Church Auditorium which stood at the corner of 14th and I Street.

The program opened with Glinka’s lively Russlan and Ludmilla Overture and closed with Strauss’ Blue Danube Waltz. Also on the program was Haydn’s Surprise Symphony and selections from Rossini’s William Tell and Wagner’s Tannhauser. Soloists on that auspicious evening were orchestra members Leonardo Fristrom and Homer Fair, violinists, who performed the L’Arlesienne Suite by Bizet. 

The orchestra numbered 74 on opening night and included many local students. 20 of the charter members were still playing with the organization two decades later. 33 years after its founding, when Mancini directed his final concert, the names of two original members appeared on the program: cellists Malin Langstroth and Blythe Slaughter.  

Orchestra Personnel, April 1931 

(original listing) 

First Violin: Leonardo Fristrom, Homer Fair, Harold Hilton, Helen Beard, Archie Dixon, Hilma Gerard, Bethyl Wiens, Margaret Stevens, Marguerite Graham, Ruth Ekholm, Donna Reeves, Wilson Schuler, Ruth Riddle, Jane Rydbom, Doris McCormick 

Second Violin: Bill Clinkenbeard, Isadore Brachman, Larry Morey, Florence Ney, Dorothy Brooks, Earl Ekholm, Linden Moore, Lola Truman, Emma Helmick 

Viola: Clarissa Green, Virginia Laird, Eugenia Fitzgerald, Albert Lotspeich 

Cello: Malin Langstroth, Leonard Johnson, Loi Gushe, Mary Kiersch, Ina Bradley, Francis Riell, Blythe Slaughter, Marjorie Saveker, Thayer Jones, Zelda Cox, Wilma Secrest 

Charter members, back row: Thayer Jones, Don Tingle, Malin Langstroth, Harold Bartlett; front row: Blythe Slaughter, Hilma Gerard, Margaret Bartlett

Rehearsal at Mancini Hall

Oboe: Charles Thompson, Mary Hough, Harold Blakeley 

English Horn: Charles Thompson 

Flute: John Wing, Edwin Taylor, Jack Cressey, Bruch Bomberger 

Bassoon: Marie Jensen 

Clarinet: Harold Bartlett, Max Denny, Richard Anderson, Burdean Thompson 

Blass Clarinet: Margaret Redman, Tommy Clinkenbeard 

Bass Viol: Norman Smith, Joe Holder, Edwin Taylor, Sam Dreizen, Margaret Campbell, Marietta Green, Raymond Goodman 

Tuba: Edward Bright 

This image from 1973 is of original orchestra members, Blythe Slaughter and Hilma Gerard playing in the ruins of the First Presbyterian Church, location of the first MSO concert

Trumpet: Kenneth Morris, Gordon Pearl, Galen Ebie 

Horn: Murray Schrock, Robert Bell 

Trombone: Morris Schrock, James Hogin, Donald Tingle 

Timpani: Dale Area 

Percussion: Billie Myers, Roland Hunt, Henry Grundrecker 

Piano: Dorothy Zimmerman 

Librarian: Gordon Pearl, Kenneth Morris, assistant 

This Month in MSO History: Marian Anderson

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Did you know... 

That Marian Anderson, the celebrated African American contralto, was invited to Modesto by the Modesto Symphony to perform a recital on February 15, 1956? A “living legend” as described by journalist Pat Morrison of the Modesto Bee, Marian Anderson is famously known for her 1939 Lincoln Memorial concert, performed in front of a crowd of more than 75,000 people, after being denied Constitution Hall as a venue due to racial segregation. 

Marian Anderson in New York Philharmonic Stadium Concerts program, August 26, 1925.

Program page from Anderson's August 26, 1925 concert.

Born in 1897 in Philadelphia, Anderson was quickly recognized for her talent as a singer. Her church choir raised money for her to study with Giuseppe Boghetti. In 1925, she won First Prize in a singing contest sponsored by the New York Philharmonic. This contest won her the opportunity to perform at Lewisohn Stadium with the orchestra, which was an immediate success with audience and critics. In 1928, she gave a recital in Carnegie Hall and in 1933 she made her debut in London, launching her tour throughout Europe. Anderson was most well received in Scandinavia, where she also befriended composer, Jean Sibelius who composed songs just for her. She returned to New York to great acclaim and performed another successful concert at Carnegie Hall. 

In 1939, she received national attention when the Daughters of the American Revolution refused to let her perform at Constitution Hall in Washington D.C. She was invited to sing in Washington by Howard University however, the D.A.R-run Constitution Hall, was the only venue that could accommodate the large crowds that Anderson attracted. She was “filling the largest concert halls in the nation, sometimes five or six thousand people.” according to Dr. Ray Arsenault, author of The Sound of Freedom. Constitution Hall at the time was racially segregated and Black people were not allowed to attend shows nor perform in the hall.  

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt upon hearing this news was outraged and immediately resigned from the D.A.R. She wrote in her weekly column, “My Day,” “They have taken an action which has been widely criticized in the press... to remain as a member implies approval of that action, and therefore I am resigning.” Her reaction garnered a lot of attention and helped catalyze what would become an iconic concert held at the Lincoln Memorial. 

Upon the suggestion of NAACP executive secretary, Walter White, it was arranged by Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes for Anderson to sing at the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday, April 9, 1939. She performed before an integrated crowd of more than 75,000 people and a radio audience in the millions.  

Anderson became a symbol of the long battle of the Civil Rights Movement, decades before Martin Luther King Jr made his famous “I Have A Dream” speech in front of the same monument she performed in front of. However, this attention and fame on Anderson’s end was not intentional as she saw herself as first and foremost a classical singer. 

By 1956, despite her legendary status, she remained humble and focused on her craft. She came to Modesto in February 1956 under the sponsorship of the Modesto Symphony Orchestra to perform in the Strand Theater (where Brenden Theaters now resides downtown). The audience was at full capacity and according to Morrison of the Modesto Bee, “Her direct and reverent style, deep in feeling and calm in confidence lends a spiritual tone to her voice. To hear Marian Anderson is more than a musical experience.”  

And when asked by Morrison “if it is difficult to be a living legend,” Anderson graciously responded, “That is difficult to say. We have never been one.” 

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Learn more about Marian Anderson!

Our sources for this article are below:

• “Denied a Stage, She Sang for a Nation” by Susan Stamberg of NPR.org

• “Marian Anderson: Of Thee We Sing” from The Kennedy Center

• August 26, 1925 Stadium Concert Program from the New York Philharmonic Leon Levy Digital Archives

• The NYPR Archive Collections - Marian Anderson and Mischa Elman from the WNYC.

45 Years of Modesto Symphony Youth Orchestra

In 1976, a junior orchestra was formed by a dedicated core of string teachers in Stanislaus County to support school music programs, and to give student musicians a full orchestra experience. By 1980, the Stanislaus Youth Symphony (SYS) was formed, sponsored by the Modesto Symphony Orchestra (MSO). 

By the late 80’s, SYS was renamed the Modesto Symphony Stanislaus Youth Orchestra (MSSYO) as a joint effort between the MSO and music teachers from the public schools. The MSSYO was organized under the leadership of Dr. James Klein as their music director and Senior Division conductor, with Will Aprile as their Junior Division conductor. The orchestra has evolved over the years and provides young musicians with an advanced level of musical literature in a challenging environment.

By the 1990s, the now named Modesto Symphony Youth Orchestra (MSYO) started to gain national attention. In 1993, after passing a rigorous selection process and raising a large amount of funds, the Senior Orchestra was off on an experience of a lifetime--performing at New York City’s Carnegie Hall. Playing a program of music by Schuber, Copeland, and Beethoven, the orchestra was rewarded with a standing ovation. Although three orchestras were on the evening program, including one professional orchestra, only the MSYO received such a response. Since then, the MSYO has toured in Europe, Canada, Japan, as well as many performances throughout California. They also returned to Carnegie Hall in 2002 and 2014.

Andrew Norman, giving a talk before concert in 2015.

The MSYO recorded its first CD in 1997, which includes a performance of Metamorphosis, a composition by then MSYO principal violist, Andrew Norman. Norman, now a Grammy-nominated composer, has returned to his home symphony throughout his career. The MSO has also featured a few of Norman’s pieces in their programs including Gran Turismo for Violin Octet, performed in 2012, Poem for Orchestra in 1998, and Drip Blip Sparkle Spin Glint Glide Glow Float Flop Chop Pop Shatter Splash! performed in 2015. The LA Phil also won a grammy in 2019 for their recorded performance of his piece, Sustain. Sustain was also one of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize Finalists in Music.

In 2019, the MSO invited four MSYO alumni back as featured soloists: Matthew Ennis, saxophone, Jonathan Altman, violin, Madeline Olson, harp, and Andrew Grishaw, violin. These young performers studied at some of the nation’s best academic institutions including the San Francisco Conservatory, Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University, and The Juilliard School.

Now in it’s 45th Season, the Modesto Symphony Youth Orchestra continues to serve young musicians and their families from more than 40 public and private schools in the Central Valley. This season will open with a virtual Fall Concert on November 18th live on the MSO YouTube channel. The MSYO students and staff have been rehearsing digitally and are excited to share their music with friends and family all over the world.

This Month in MSO History: October

October 2 & 3, 2015:

Gershwin & Bernstein concert

Our 85th Season started off with audience favorites, Gershwin & Bernstein! The program included Gershwin’s Concerto for Piano in F Major featuring soloist Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner, Bernstein’s West Side Story: Symphonic Dances, and also a MSO Premiere of MSYO alum Andrew Norman’s Drip Blip Sparkle Spin Glint Glide Glow Float Flop Chop Pop Shatter Splash!

Since then, the LA Philharmonic commissioned Norman to compose Sustain for their 100th season. Norman received a 2020 Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Classical Composition for Sustain and the LA Philharmonic won the Grammy Award for Best Orchestral Performance for their performance. Sustain was also one of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize Finalists in Music.

October 5 & 6, 2007

Our first concert in the Gallo Center!

While the MSO’s rich history stretches back to 1931, our first Subscription concert in the Gallo Center for the Arts was in October 2007. This season opening concert featured Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and An American in Paris and was conducted by Erich Kunzel with Leon Bates on piano. The MSO previously had performed on stage with Patti LuPone back in September 2007 for the Gallo Center’s very first concert.

Before the Gallo Center was built, the MSO would perform in a variety of spaces including the Modesto High School Auditorium, the Strand Theater (where Brendon Theater on 10th Street currently sits), and Modesto Junior College. However, since its establishment in 2007, the MSO has been a proud resident company of the Gallo Center for the Arts and has been performing there ever since.

October 13 & 14, 2017

Nightmare Before Christmas

The Nightmare Before Christmas in Concert in 2017 was wildly successful and attracted families from all over the state hoping to see something strange at the Gallo Center.

“Absolutely phenomenal performance! We saw the Nightmare Before Christmas. We will definitely see this next time they do this... Great job to all of you who made this possible for us to see!! BRAVO”

— Jeanette Molina, Oct. 15, 2017

October 23, 1962

Frank Mancini announces retirement

On October 23, 1962, founder Frank “Proof” Mancini announced his retirement as Music Director of the Modesto Symphony Orchestra and conducted his final concert after 32 years at the helm.

According to Margaret Painter, a longtime Modesto resident and MSO subscriber since its inception in 1931, “Mancini’s final concert program featured the violinist Andre Toth and closed with Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 (“From the New World”). After the orchestra’s last note, musicians and audience joined in paying tribute to their beloved “Proof.” Applause continued so long that for the first time in the history of the orchestra, claims a musician, the director returned to the podium a second time to acknowledge the tribute.”

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Frank Mancini’s handwritten final note in the concert program.

“Starting our 31th [sic] season, which may be my last as its conductor, I hope and pray that the M.S.O. will never cease to exist, on the century it will get better and better.”

— Frank "Proof" Mancini

October 24, 2004

Spooktacular!

The first Symphonic Spooktacular was held at the Modesto High auditorium on Oct. 24, 2004. Conducted by Music Director Darryl One, this interactive musical “who-dunnit” was a part of the MSO’s Family & Friends concert series, with concerts for the surrounding schools and the public alike! There were also many activities for all ages to enjoy including a costume contest, pumpkin painting, and more!