Interview
with Edie
by Mary
Williams
Mary:
When did you join the Dallas Alum Chapter?
Edie: One of the first things I did when arriving in Dallas in
1958 was to check to see if there was a chapter here, knowing that there
was an active one at SMU. My only other affiliation since leaving
college was one year with the Champaign-Urbana chapter. So I assume that
was when I joined. I knew I would find friends here.
Mary: What offices have you held?
Edie: One of my most enjoyable offices was the five years as
Province Governor, coming at a time when I could take off on my own from
the family responsibilities, though still teaching kindergarten.
(1967-1972) It was great fun meet-ing with the collegiate and alumni
chapters from E. Texas to Albuquerque. I remember some of those people
to this day. Of course, like the rest of you, I have held several
offices right here: three times president, Mu Chi chapter advisor when
needed, and no doubt others. Along with Mary Williams I participated in
one of the first music ther-apy projects. For two years we did music
with cerebral palsy patients once a week - playing guitars, using rhythm
instruments, etc. Of course, the latest (last?) office has been chairman
of the Sunday Concert Series following several incredible role models
including Frances Stuart. This did give me a wonderful opportunity to
represent our chapter in receiving a national award from the
Professional Fraternities Association several years ago.
Mary: Tell us about your musical background.
Edie: Growing up in a home where music was as essential as
breathing, in a small Minnesota town where my father (as superintendent)
started the school's music program in 1929, meant his four offspring
would all sing and play in-struments. My mother, whose Norwegian
immigrant par-ents saw to it that she received piano lessons, followed
their example. I accompanied my trumpet-playing brother as he played at
all the county fairs, already winning awards, culminating in his 53
years as principal trumpet in the Chicago Symphony. At Concordia
College, singing in the choir under Paul Christiansen and being chosen
to become a member of Phi Iota Chapter were musical highlights.
Mary: How did you meet your husband?
Edie:
Following one year of teaching in a small Minnesota town, I decided that
was not my forte and moved to New York with two friends, one of whom
"had to go there to finish her thesis on theater." It was a
great time to be there. Rent on our East side apartment was $45,
breaking down to $15 each. After a year of voice study with a wonderful
teacher I auditioned for the chorus which was assembled to sing under
Toscanini with the NBC Orchestra and was fortunate to make it. These
were unforgettable experiences but also afforded the nice coincidence of
meeting the man who would become my husband. Lloyd at that time was a
student at Union Theological Seminary also singing and recording with
the newly formed Robert Shaw small chorus. I continued to do some solo
work and joined the larger Collegiate Chorale once to sing the Beethoven
Ninth with Toscanini. Our daughter Debby was born in New York while
Lloyd was working on his Masters in Sacred Music at the seminary.
Mary: Tell us about your family.
Edie: Our three boys were born while Lloyd was teaching at
Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington. There was no Mu Phi chapter
there but I was probably too busy feeding, clothing and supervising
things like piano lessons to attend anyway. We had a wonderful piano
teacher who looked like Marie Dressler and required a parent to be
present at all lessons and to supervise closely the practice sessions,
all recorded in a notebook. I think I learned as much about basic music
from those lessons as I did from almost any other source. The move to
Dallas from the Midwest was pretty dramatic. The kids wish we had stayed
up there though they did well in music and sports at the Highland Park
schools. They are spread around the country now: Debby in the country
near Ithaca with vineyard/winery husband and 15-year old son: Eric and
his wife and three children live in Iowa, Peter and his wife are here in
Dallas and Jon in Fairfax, Virginia. We are watching grandchildren excel
(of course!) in music, golf, theater, etc. Last summer we celebrated
together our 55 years of marriage together at a beautiful resort in
Minnesota.
Mary: What other interests do you have and how do you spend your
time?
Edie:
Good question. I have done a lot of weaving the past twenty years but it
is pretty much on hold now. The loom is still looming, as Lloyd would
say. I have given up some of the volunteer jobs I had in the past. It
seems that just living takes more time. That and maintenance (going to
the Y and walking). I spend a lot of time reading, mostly good novels,
old and new, and my favorite magazines like The New Yorker. The concert
series is my main contribution to the community at this point but it is
definitely time to turn that over to the next person.
Mary: Anything you'd like to add?
Edie: Yes, I would like to say how nice it was that Mu Phi
honored Lloyd for his contribution to the music world by awarding him
the Citation of Merit at our 1998 convention. Also that they awarded me
the Distinguished Alumni Award, much to my surprise. I treasure my years
with Mu Phi friends and look forward to more. I would hope that we can
recruit other active members with whom to share our love of music.
Mary: Thanks, Edie for letting us get to know you better.
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