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| Ralph E. Williams, director of original UMM orchestra |
Today we refer to the Star Tribune. In '61 we had the morning Minneapolis Tribune and the afternoon Minneapolis Star. I remember Bob Foss making his rounds in Morris with his Minneapolis Star sack slung over his shoulder. He might pause to chat with me when I was at Shorty's Cafe next to the Morris Theater. Thanks Bob.
There's a large photo of the new and exciting UMM orchestra on the front page of the General News section, Part 2. The headline: "Minnesota's newest symphony is different from the Philharmonic." I'm not sure such a comparison was necessary but it gave a sense of context. The UMM orchestra "was what it was," and what it was, was artistically fulfilling for the musicians and the audiences who came to Edson Auditorium. All of UMM's concerts were at Edson then.
There was one music faculty member in the first year. That person happened to be my father, Ralph E. Williams. He was no stranger to the pages of the Minneapolis newspaper(s). The '50s saw him direct the Minneapolis Apollo Club among other things. It's fascinating to look through the old scrapbook.
The Tribune's feature photo shows Dad leading a rehearsal from the director's podium. Today Edson is refurbished thanks to a generous financial gesture from the Morrison family. I'm sure the Morrisons were delighted to take in those early concerts. Helen Jane Morrison was instrumental in starting the Performing Arts Series.
There is a feature article accompanying the photo, written by David Mazie. May of '61 was the second month of the baseball season that saw Roger Maris hit 61 home runs for the New York Yankees. It was our Minnesota Twins' very first season, putting them on a parallel course with UMM, headed for tremendous vitality! UMM and the Twins are staples of the Minnesota scene today.
Oh, there is a subhead to the main headline, appearing under the photo. Yes the orchestra is different from the Philharmonic, "But Morris orchestra has a good time." My mother Martha was a part of that good time, playing the violin. She honed her musicianship in Brainerd where Dad began his teaching/directing career at Brainerd High School. He achieved great success with the Brainerd High choir. He tells a story from his hiring, where he appeared before the board who wanted to know if he was set for a long commitment. Thinking quickly and realizing he had a pair of stockings in his pocket, he pulled them out, held them up and proclaimed "I'm prepared to stay!"
Problem with that commitment was that World War II came along, and for that, Dad was ready for the maximum commitment. He was a gunnery commander in the Pacific theater, rank of lieutenant. I never asked why it wasn't feasible to go back to Brainerd, but he did carry one pretty significant legacy from that place: He ended up marrying Martha, a 1942 Brainerd High graduate. I never found out to what extent their relationship was developed when Mom was in high school. I presume it was minimal at that point - had it not been, I might be a little concerned, but who am I to judge them? They certainly ended up on a parallel course in life together, getting fully invested in Morris and our UMM!
Mom managed the campus post office for many years. She left us to join Dad in heaven in April, about six weeks before what would have been her 94th birthday. Dad made it to 96 years old. I'd like to think I had something to do with their extended lifespan and opportunity to stay in our precious Northridge Drive home 'til the end.
I have always felt uncomfortable in my associations with UMM. I have tried to solve that by giving money. I can introduce myself as a President's Club member. That should take care of things.
I invite you to read the feature article from the Minneapolis Tribune from May of 1961. Here it is:
MORRIS, Minn. - Minnesota's newest symphony orchestra was launched last week with a converted trumpeter playing bass viol and an assistant postmaster on a "rusty" violin.
It featured a 17-year-old contra-bass clarinetist and a 68-year-old cellist.
Half a dozen of the musicians were making their first orchestral appearance in 25 years.
"We may not exactly remind people of the New York Philharmonic," admitted director Ralph E. Williams. "But we have just as good a time."
The new orchestra is the University of Minnesota Morris branch symphony. It made its concert debut Tuesday night in Edson hall on the Morris campus.
And if the orchestra doesn't have all the attributes of the Philharmonic, at least Williams has faced some problems Leonard Bernstein never worried about.
He's had to ignore exploding violins, shift performers around like Murray Warmath does football players and nurse out-of-condition violinists through sore arms.
"Anything we've gone through is worth it, though," insists Williams.
Williams, 44, an assistant professor of music at Morris and former director of the Apollo club in Minneapolis, conceived the idea for the orchestra last December.
Basically it is an orchestra for the university, and most of the wind and percussion instruments are manned by Morris branch students.
Williams found, however, that as in many colleges, there was a lack of string players at Morris. So he sent out invitations to musicians - and former musicians - living in nearby west-central Minnesota communities.
At the first rehearsal Feb. 17, a dozen violinists, viola players and cellists showed up - some from as far away as 45 miles. For many talented musicians who had kept practicing but had no real outlet for their playing, this was an opportunity they had long wanted.
"It's one of the most wonderful things that has happened to this part of the state," said Mrs. Harry Hansen, Morris, the first violinist. It's something I dreamed of ever since we left home."
Mrs. Hansen originally learned violin from her father in Chisholm, Minn., and later played in the Range symphony at Hibbing and the Duluth Symphony orchestra before moving to Morris in 1945.
For others, like Cliff Wolner, the assistant postmaster at Ortonville, the new orchestra meant a chance to "get the old fiddle out from under the bed, kick the moths out of the case and limber up my rusty fingers." The last orchestra Wolner had played in was in high school 25 years ago.
Just how rusty some of the fiddles and fiddlers were became evident in early rehearsals.
Glen Linscheid, choral director at Morris high, was practicing one afternoon when his violin suddenly fell apart. "Exploded," he says.
Linament for tired arms was standard equipment the first few weeks.
But gradually the orchestra took shape.
The core is formed by Morris branch freshmen - such as Ronnie Larson, a trumpet player from Donnelly, Minn.; Bonnie Bogie, clarinetist from Glenwood; and Frank Nelson, Graceville, the leader of the percussion section.
The string section consists of adults from all over the area and from all walks of life.
Mrs. Arnold Opdahl is a housewife and grandmother from Starbuck, Minn. Ralph Finden runs a dry cleaning business in Glenwood. Paul Askegaard is a school teacher in Alexandria, Minn.
For Finden and Mrs. Opdahl, the symphony was something of a reunion. Both had played violin in the Pope county orchestra 25 years ago.
Each week, as word of the orchestra spread, a new string player showed up at the Friday afternoon rehearsal. But Williams discovered that nowhere among the group did he have a bass viol player.
So, like a football coach switching a fullback to center or an end to tackle, he talked Cliff Hedberg, a trumpet player, and Walt Sarlette, a clarinetist, into trying the bass viol.
"We knew we couldn't get on the orchestra with our regular instruments because there were plenty of college kids who played them," said Hedberg. "So we learned to play the bass. We wanted to play with the orchestra no matter what we had to do."
To this assortment of performers were added a few brass and wind instrument players from Morris high school. The age of the musicians now ranges from 17-year-old Connie Rabenberg, a junior in high school, to 68-year-old John A. Anderson, a retired music teacher who once played in a chataqua band.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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