Though the celebration of National Music Week began in 1924 through the efforts of  Mr. Charles M. Tremaine, the international observation of it really started in 1958 when the National Federation of Music Clubs became the NMW sponsor. This week 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,

“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.”

You can read more about National Music Week on the National Federation of Music Club's website.

Coming this summer - Opera In The Ozarks 75th Season

The Morning Etude Club has long been a supporter of Opera In the Ozarks. What began in 1950 as a Fine Arts summer camp dedicated to opera, OIO has evolved into a mecca where university students and graduates in Voice, Instrumental Music, and related arts come to prepare for professional careers, a place where opportunity, music, artist and audience meld with the beauty and splendor of the Ozark Mountains. Many of its alumni are internationally famous and have sung on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera company as well as opera companies in Chicago, New York City, San Francisco, Houston, Switzerland, and Germany.

This year there will be a Gala celebration at the end of May to mark this historic anniversary and to open the first season in OIO's new state-of-the art theater. Starting with a dinner on May 31st followed by a concert, all tickets are $75 and will go on sale February 1st.

Their summer season runs from June 27-July 25th and will feature performances of "Carmen", "The Merry Widow", and "Into The Woods".  For more information on their performances click here.