Summary Information
La Crosse Music Study Club Records
1912-1986
- La Crosse Music Study Club (Wis.)
La Crosse Mss BP; La Crosse Micro 16; Micro 1145
1.4 cubic feet (4 archives boxes) and 1 reel of microfilm (35 mm)
UW-La Crosse Murphy Library / La Crosse Area Research Ctr. (Map)Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Records of a La Crosse, Wisconsin women's organization (1911-1985) devoted to the study and performance of music. Included are by-laws, minutes, programs, yearbooks, and small quantities of study notes, correspondence, and financial records. Available only on microfilm are scrapbooks of news clippings from the club and from the College Club (1925-1932), the local branch of the American Association of University Women.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-lx00bp ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
The La Crosse Music Study Club began its seventy-four year history in November 1911 when a new community resident found she missed the weekly music study class she had previously attended in Milwaukee. During its early days the club consisted of married women who met frequently to perform, study individual composers and types of music, and present papers. Unmarried women were allowed to join in the club's second year. Although membership requirements changed, at one time it was necessary to be a performing musician in order to belong.
The club formally organized in 1916 by drawing up a constitution and by-laws, electing officers, and authorizing dues collections. At this time the club's mission was articulated as the promotion of the study and appreciation of musical art and the encouragement of music in the community. In 1919 the club started bringing artists to the city, continuing this sponsorship through 1926. In addition, the Music Club co-sponsored concerts with the Music Department of the La Crosse Normal School.
A winter concert series was begun in 1930. During this season The Messiah was presented with volunteers from city church choirs joining club members. This program developed into a yearly tradition and as the choruses became larger, the group evolved into the Vocational Civic Choir, later the La Crosse Choral Union. Members of the club also had associations with other La Crosse clubs, especially the College Club, a branch of the American Association of University Women, with which annual joint meetings were held from 1929 to 1936. An affiliation with the Wisconsin Federation of Music Clubs was formed in 1928, which lasted until 1934.
After 1950 the club began to meet less frequently, only once per month, to perform for each other. By 1976, although men had been allowed into the membership, the club had begun to suffer from declining attendance. In November 1985, members voted to dissolve the organization. The bank accounts were closed on April 26, 1986, and the remaining funds donated to the Ella Ambrosius Scholarship Fund.
Scope and Content Note
The records, which document almost the entire history of the club and which concern both the administration of the organization and its musical activities, consist of by-laws, minutes, correspondence, programs, study notes, yearbooks, financial records, news clippings, background information, and miscellany. Photographs received with the collection are part of the name file in the Visual Materials Archives at the Wisconsin Historical Society.
The historical background file consists of three brief histories of the organization and programs and news clippings on its 25th and 50th anniversaries. A booklet on the 25th anniversary contains letters of congratulations and a list of former members. Also located here is information on the decision to dissolve in 1985 including copies of a questionnaire filled out by members, minutes, and information on the final disposition of the organization's funds.
The largest portion of the administrative records consist of minutes (1916-1985). Included with the minutes are attendance records, proceedings of regular and executive committee meetings, and scattered reports of the secretaries and treasurers. Some news clippings and performance programs are also interspersed with the minutes.
Documenting the musical activities of the club are programs and yearbooks. A quite extensive collection of programs (1912-1986) provides broad information on the date, hostess or leader of each meeting, musical selections performed, and papers presented. Scattered news clippings can be found with some typewritten program pages. The yearbooks are even more complete (1913-1986). They variously include the year's musical programs, leaders for each meeting, occasional lists of subjects of study, the constitution and by-laws, and lists of active and associate members. Related to the musical activity is a small folder of study notes filed with the miscellany containing a criticism of the opera Elektra (circa 1914) and a paper on the “Modern Tendencies in Music,” 1925. Also included is a guide prepared in 1966 to all subjects which had been previously studied by the club.
Additional miscellaneous files include several annual financial reports of the treasurer from 1966 through the dissolution of the organization, information on ticket sales on concerts sponsored by the club, a file on committee work during the club's later years, and Xeroxed copies of loose clippings concerning activities. Two scrapbooks of additional clippings included in the collection are available only on microfilm. The first book (1915-1936) contains publicity and reviews and a few concert programs not included elsewhere in the papers. Of special note here are two letters from French women expressing thanks for the music club's monetary contributions for children after World War I. The second scrapbook contains news clippings about lectures and activities of the College Club, the La Crosse branch of the American Association of University Women, which held joint yearly meetings with the Music Study Club between the years 1929-1936.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by the La Crosse Music Study Club via Elizabeth Mielke, La Crosse, Wisconsin, November 13, 1986. Several programs presented by Lois Woods, La Crosse, Wisconsin, 1977. Accession Number: M86-600, M77-397
Processed by Sue Salzsieder, Bill Beaudreau, and Carolyn Mattern, 1988.
Contents List
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La Crosse Mss BP
Box
1
Folder
1
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By-laws, 1961, 1966, undated
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Historical background
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Box
1
Folder
2
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Histories, 1930, 1976, undated
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Box
1
Folder
3
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25th and 50th anniversaries, 1936, 1966
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Box
1
Folder
4
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Dissolution, 1986
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Minutes
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Box
1
Folder
5-9
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1916-1929
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Box
2
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1930-1967, 1982-1985
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Box
3
Folder
1-5
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Programs, 1912-1986
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Box
3
Folder
6-7
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Yearbooks, 1913-1986
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Box
4
Folder
1
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Miscellany
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Box
4
Folder
2
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Financial records, 1920-1922, 1956-1985, undated
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Box
4
Folder
3
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Committee work, 1983-1985
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Box
4
Folder
4
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Study notes, 1914, 1925, 1966
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Box
4
Folder
5-6
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Loose news clippings and obituaries, 1927-1982, undated
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La Crosse Micro 16/Micro 1145
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Scrapbooks
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Reel
1
Frame
1
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General, 1916-1936
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Reel
1
Frame
60
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College Club (AAUW), 1925-1932, undated
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