Philadelphia's Fortune

Two decades ago, when Americanization was word-of-the-hour, a slim, stylish, grey-haired woman with a brisk, dynamic manner and a pleasant, persuasive voice, left the protection of Rittenhouse Square and journeyed across Philadelphia to the foreign quarter to "do her bit." She was Mary Louise Curtis Bok, daughter of Publisher Cyrus Hermann Kotzschmar Curtis and wife of Edward William Bok, famed immigrant-publicist. Her problem was obvious. Philadelphia's foreign quarter was and is like any other city's--crowded, ingrown, hostile to the U. S. culture enveloping it, which it cannot understand. Mrs. Bok tried the teaching of useful trades, U. S. theories of liberty and government, the English language. She was met with forced interest, with acquiescence veiling suspicion. At length she turned to a universal language--music. She arranged for lessons for her polyglot proteges. In 1915 she established the Settlement Music School Building and endowed it permanently. Results were speedy and plainly visible. Hostility and suspicion vanished from among the families benefited by the school's work. They told their neighbors. Friendliness spread. Then it became evident that, from a musical as well as a social point of view, nothing permanent could be accomplished except by a national school of music, with the best instructors in the world, with no entrance qualification but merit. In 1923 such a school opened its doors --the Curtis Institute of Music, named in honor of Mrs. Bok's mother, consisting of three mansions donated by its founder in Rittenhouse Square. The first year's faculty included Josef Hofmann, piano; Marcella Sembrich, voice; Karl Flesch, violin; Leopold Stokowski, orchestra. By the end of its third year, Curtis Institute had taken its place as one of the leading schools of music in the world. In 1927, Mrs. Bok increased the endowment to a total of $12,500,000, announced the appointment of Mr. Hofmann as director. Students at the Curtis Institute are fortunate. They pay no fees, are given pianos and instruments, free rent, free attendance at Philadelphia Orchestra con certs, Metropolitan Opera, and other im portant musical events, summer sojourns here or in Europe on the advice of the faculty, financial assistance in setting out on professional careers. Last week Mrs. Bok revealed a further extension of activity. She announced that the Institute had affiliated with the Phila delphia Grand Opera Company to provide the city with opera the equal of Chicago's and Manhattan's. Emily Mlynarski, con ductor of the Warsaw Philharmonic and Opera, was named as director of both the Curtis Institute Orchestra and the Phila delphia Grand Opera, replacing Artur Rodzinski, who has accepted the conductorship of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The personnel of the opera company will include well-known singers as well as stu dents selected from the vocal and operatic departments of the institute. Except for the Rochester Opera which, before evolving into the American Opera Co., was a partial outlet for students of the Eastman School of Music, Curtis Institute will thus offer unique opportunity for students to start in the operatic field. Imagine the feelings of college baseball players if their coach should arrange to put a Ruth, Cobb or Hornsby into the line-up with them. Just so must feel the singing students of Curtis Institute at the prospect of participating in productions on the same stage with Mary Garden, Dusolina Giannini, John Charles Thomas-- notables whom the Institute plans to get as visiting performers. The students may be only Musetta, Micaela or Suzuki, but they will work beside and watch a finished Mimi, a glorious Carmen, an acclaimed Butterfly.