National Music Week, May 5 - 12, 2019

National Music Week was first observed in 1924, with almost 500 towns and cities participating. National Music Week is the first full week in May, first Sunday through second Sunday each year. This year the celebration runs May 5th - May 12th - and today we highlight some of our "National Music Week" related archives.

According to the National Federation of Music Clubs website:

"A National Music Week observance gives us an opportunity to focus the attention of all Americans on music as a dynamic means of communication between people and a satisfying channel of personal expression. music, now more than ever a national need, can serve as a great force for maintaining peace and harmony among peoples. In the words of National Music Week’s founder, Mr. Charles M. Tremaine,

'Music Week is, to some extent, different from all the other special ‘weeks.’  It is a ‘drive’ for music by the friends of music, but is also the occasion for participation in and receiving of pleasure, thus making it independent of any propelling force from behind.  It gathers its momentum as it goes along from the enjoyment it brings.  Its strength comes from the universal, yet sometimes unconscious human need for music, and participation ranges all the way from the elaborate concert and pageant to the simple home musicale with a place on the program sometimes even for the five-finger exercise beginner.  Music, permeating the atmosphere, enters many new places where it is welcome.'

Music is one of the most sublime of human pursuits, and is subscribed to by all races and creeds. Its use promotes understanding, friendliness and sympathy among all people. Through music, the composer expresses a variety of moods; the listener experiences a mystical awareness that transports him from the cares and troubles that beset humanity. Music is the language of all peoples. Whether used nationally or internationally, music is a great force in creating peace and harmony."

On the hunt for a World War I era dance card for a customer a few weeks ago, I became re-acquainted with the contents of the Elizabeth Crofut Waterhouse & Marguerite Crofut Papers and was reminded of how actively the two women promoted National Music Week.

Elizabeth Crofut Waterhouse (1882-1968) was the daughter of George Augustus Crofut and Mary Onphant Crofut. Elizabeth attended the New England Conservatory of Music and had studios in Savannah, GA. In Beaufort, S.C., she was a piano instructor for nearly 50 years and was the organist and choir director for St. Helena’s Episcopal Church. Waterhouse was a member of the Clover Club for 50 years.

Her sister, Marguerite Crofut (1884-1974),  also attended the New England Conservatory of Music as well as the Chicago Musical College. Crofut was a charter member of the Clover Club and a member of the Georgia Poetry Society. In Beaufort, she taught violin and piano and her private students numbered over 1,200. 

The Crofut sisters kept musical programs from the late 1890s into the 1970s. Elizabeth and Marguerite were among the earliest proponents of "National Music Week." Their scrapbooks indicate that they were interested in showcasing their students during the celebration by the early 1930s. Among the items in their papers are many "National Music Week" programs and clippings.

Scrapbook 2: Waterhouse & Crofut Papers, BDC

You can read the Finding Aid to this collection in our WordPress blog. Visit our Research Room to see and learn more about Beaufort's music teachers and students of the past.