December Meeting

Member News

Cherie Bell has a new address and phone number. Please contact the president or webmaster for it.

Corrections to errors in the last newsletter:

Lucille L. Briggs passed away Christmas Eve, after 93 wonderful years. She was survived by her daughter Sue Hewitt and other family members. Her memorial service was held on December 28^th.

Susan Poelchau's mother died Saturday, Jan 8, at age almost 101.  The service was held on Thursday, Jan. 13. Our condolences to these members and their families.

Tena Hehn reports that Yvonne Reynolds has moved to The Barton House, an Alzheimer care facility in Fort Worth.  Contact Tena or the webmaster for her address or phone number.

Her daughter, Wanda, said it has large garden areas, walking paths, bird feeders, etc.; they did not want an "institutional look" plus they have branches in Austin and San Antonio.  Yvonne has been alone all this time and had recently taken to leaving the door open for students to come in for lessons, and just really couldn't be alone anymore.  Now she thinks she is there just to recuperate and likes her surroundings; she played the piano for people the other day. Just before Christmas she had a hysterectomy; her uterus had prolapsed and was causing problems going to the bathroom.  However, she doesn't remember having the surgery!  And she is going to stay there. Yvonne would love calls and cards and though she looks good and feels good, her mind just can't grasp it all.  She just turned 78 in August. Since many of us have dealt with Alzheimer’s in relatives and friends, we know how hard it is for all involved. 

Mary Ann Taylor’s husband Jerry is still living in a rehab program in North Dallas and will probably be there for a few weeks yet. His short-term memory is poor but improving. Physically, he is fine – no obvious impairment except balance. He can still play, but only hymns sound all right; the Bach inventions were too hard

Sharon Kraus’s mother was back in the hospital twice to have her pacemaker adjusted and is now home, but is weak.  

Cynthia Wadley has reported that her husband Dan has pancreatic cancer.  

We wish all these families well in their difficulties.

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Meeting Schedule (7:30 pm)

Monday, February 14- Highland Park Presbyterian Church Sanctuary, 3821 University Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75205

Joint meeting Mu Phi Epsilon and SAI

Program:

- Virginia Kassel, organ: Benedictus by Max Reger

- Emily Hartnett, piano: Prelude, Chorale and Fugue, by Cesar Franck

- Sadie Rowe, organ: Improvisation “Aka Tonbo” (The Red Dragonfly) by Joyce Jones; and Prelude in G Minor by J.S. Bach

- SAI vocal and woodwind ensembles directed by Nelta Owen with Paralee Curry accompanist: Three Spanish Ballades by Eugene Butler; Waters Ripple and Flow by Deems Taylor and May Day Carol by Deems Taylor

Co-hostesses will be Sadie Rowe, Frances Estes, Tena Hehn, Pat Suitt and Karen Schoenrock

****

Tuesday, March 15  - home of Pat Suitt. Contact the president or webmaster for address. NOTE: THIS DATE HAS BEEN CHANGED FROM MONDAY MARCH 14      

Program: 

-  Kay Newman:  Fantasia by Mozart

-  Pat Suitt and Katie Freiberger: a concerto by Haydn

-  Sylvia Taylor Lerch: Haydn lecture and

-  Gretchen Nichols and Pat Suitt: a sonata for cello and piano

Co-hostesses will be Kay Newman, Priscilla Long, Carrie Loftis and Mary Ann Taylor.  

 *****  

Tuesday, April 12 (it says 11 in your book, but it should be 12) – home of Mary Beth Johnson. Contact the president or webmaster for address.

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Sunday Concert Series

Our spring series starts Sunday Feb. 6! As you look at the Sunday Concert Series for spring you will see there are some unfilled dates due to late performer cancellations. We hope to fill those soon and will post current information on the website. 

Please volunteer (contact Claudia Jameson) to introduce a program at the Library Series on a Sunday afternoon this year. Invite friends and students, and tell people about our wonderful concerts. And come!!!

Keeping Up

Consult our website for our newsletter (and back newsletters), updated information, our Library Concert schedule (and sometimes changes!) plus biographies of the performers: www.muphiepsilondallas.org

Deadline for the April newsletter is April 5. Please send your news to Mary Williams, txtravel@flash.net.

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    Cynthia's Notes

Dear Mu Phis,

While I am writing this, rain is falling and a light snow is predicted for tonight.  Another dreary winter day.  As we look forward to spring, we can also look forward to some outstanding programs both at our meetings and at the library.  February brings the joint meeting with SAI.  This year we are the hostesses, so let's have a large turnout.  They always have a good turnout.  Sadie has worked hard to reserve the sanctuary at Highland Park Presbyterian Church and the parlor for refreshments after the program. 

Claudia and her committee continue to do a great job on the library concert series.  Volunteer to help them by being the hostess and introducing the program on a Sunday afternoon.  Look over the list and choose one that most interest you; however, that may be hard to do as they will all be excellent. 

Our sympathy goes to Susan Poelchau who lost her mother on January 8th and to Sue Hewitt, mother of 70-year Mu Phi member, Lucille Briggs.  Aren't we glad that Lucille was able to come to the November meeting and receive her certificate?  She was a gracious, charming lady.  At Lucille's memorial service Susan Poelchau, Tena Hehn and Sylvia Lerch read the Mu Phi Epsilon Creed together. 

Other Musicians in the News

Two prominent area musicians known to many Mu Phis died recently. Recipients of many awards, both of these teachers influenced many musicians in this area who went on to perform and teach.

Sheila Harms died on December 12^th of complications from a stroke. She was 72. A well-known soprano, teacher and pianist, she and her husband co-founded the International Opera Studio of Dallas.

 

Obituary from the Dallas Morning News:

Sheila Jones Harms, (May 29, 1931-December 11, 2004)

 

A noted soprano, voice teacher and pianist passed away on Sunday, December 12, 2004 of complications resulting from a stroke. Sheila Jones Harms was one of the outstanding post war English musicians. She won the "Dame Clara Butt" award in 1952 as outstanding soprano at the Royal College of Music in London. Her professional career began at age 14 performing for the BBC in London. She went on to study in Vienna throughout the 1950s. She performed lead and supporting roles at the Theater an der Vien, and at opera houses throughout Europe during the 1960s. She is best known for her roles as Anna in the King and I, Konstanze (Abduction from the Seraglio), Olympia (Tales of Hoffman), Anina (Night in Venice) and Musetta (La Boheme). She toured the US with Guiseppe Di Stefano in 1967 performing Mi in the Land of Smiles. 

 

After moving to the US permanently in 1971, Mrs. Harms performed with the Chicago Lyric Opera , and increasingly focused on teaching. She strongly believed in helping promising future opera singers and musicians to achieve their career goals, particularly with regard to careers in Europe. With this in mind, Mrs. Harms and her husband co-founded the International Opera Studio of Dallas (IOSD) in 1984. Many of her students are now performing in major opera houses in the United States and Europe and have won prestigious awards such as the Metropolitan Opera Regional Competition and the MacAllister and Sullivan Awards. Over the years, more than 30 of her students have sung as chorus members with solo roles with the Dallas Opera. 

 

In addition, Mrs. Harms and her husband organized and performed in many concerts and musical programs in the Dallas area, including performances for the Wagner Society of Dallas, the Musical Arts Society of Dallas, the Dallas Goethe Society, and Dallas Pro Musica. She is survived by her husband Werner and her son Mark. A "celebration of Sheila's life" will be held in Dallas January 7th at 10:00 am at Sparkman Hillcrest Funeral Home, 7405 West Northwest Highway. In addition, in accordance with her wishes, her ashes will be scattered by Hadrian's Wall near Carlisle, England, her birthplace. This service will take place on Sunday, January 23rd. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in her name to the royal College of Music in London. 

Eugenia O’Reilly died in Minneapolis on December 23^rd at age 94. She was a prominent piano teacher in Dallas for 50 years as well as in Baton Rouge and was a student of Dr. Van Katwijk. Her daughter Sally and granddaughter Ariane are also pianists.

Obituary from the Dallas Morning News:

Eugenia Nicks O'Reilly died in Minneapolis on December 23rd of natural causes at the age of 94. She was a prominent piano teacher in Dallas for 50 years, and taught in Baton Rouge for 11 subsequent years. Her students were soloists with orchestras throughout the southwest and won numerous prizes. Many have pursued distinguished musical careers. She was a mentor and inspiration to many generations of piano teachers throughout the U.S. and leaves a legacy of world-class piano teaching. She was a graduate and valedictorian of her class at what is now the University of Texas at Arlington. She studied with the late Paul van Katwijk at SMU and with Frits Fall of Vienna, Austria. Mrs. O'Reilly was named "Teacher of the Year" by the Dallas Music Teachers Association in 1982 and was Texas Music Teachers Association "Teacher of the Year" in 1987 while she was teaching in Baton Rouge. She was listed in "Who's Who in Music." She was the daughter of Dallas architect and builder B.A. Nicks, and the granddaughter of Dallas settler, Jonathan Burr Lisle Harrison. She is survived by her daughter, Sally O'Reilly (Minneapolis), and granddaughters, Ariane Liao (Chao), Houston, TX and Phoebe Dalton, Sioux Falls, SD. A memorial service will be held in Dallas in the spring. Memorials to the DMTA Eugenia O'Reilly Young Artist Scholarship sent in care of Mrs. Colleen Brashear, 6777 Northcreek Lane, Dallas TX  75240, would be greatly appreciated.

 

Article, by Christ A. Robinson

Piano teacher Eugenia Nicks O'Reilly constructed a small performance stage in the living room of her South Oak Cliff home in 1970. Dallas Symphony musicians played thank-you concerts on Steinway pianos for their contributors in the two-story performance hall. It was a place where music professors and artists gathered.

 

"Mother loved to entertain," said Ms. O'Reilly's daughter, Sally O'Reilly of Minneapolis. "She loved the fact she had a house where people could make music under the very best conditions.

 

Mrs. O'Reilly, 94, died Thursday in Minneapolis. A memorial service will be held in Dallas in the spring.

 

Already an accomplished piano player, she began her 50-year teaching career at age 20. She moved to Baton Rouge, LA and taught piano for 11 more years before retiring at age 83. Many of her students through the years became piano teachers and professional musicians.

 

"Her musical guidance hovers in a gigantic way, not only over me but [for] countless others in Dallas," said Stephen Nielson of Dallas, a concert pianist, teacher and former student of Mrs. O'Reilly. "She was a huge presence in the Dallas music scene."

 

A Dallas native, she was born May 11, 1910, and began learning piano at age 5. Mrs. O'Reilly's grandfather, Jonathan Burr Lisle Harrison, was a Dallas settler, her daughter said.

 

Mrs. O'Reilly graduated from Oak Cliff High School, now Adamson High, and from the institution now known as the University of Texas at Arlington. She also studied with world-renowned concert pianists at Southern Methodist University.

 

Sally O'Reilly said that during the Depression, her mother bartered with some of her students for lessons, accepting housecleaning and poultry as payment. 

"Mother used to say that when times were hard, people turn to the arts for comfort," she said. Mrs. O'Reilly's father, Dallas architect B.A. Nicks, told her, "never give up your music. In tough times, you'll be the only one who can make a living." 

 

Mr. Neilson said Mrs. O'Reilly had an uncommon understanding of piano education. "She was a disciplinarian of the first order, but she also taught young people performance flair," he said. "She taught them to be polished young performers, not just technicians at the piano."

 

She moved to Baton Rouge to be with her daughter in the early 1980s and later followed her to Minnesota. Sally O'Reilly said her mother really missed her hometown, especially its Tex-Mex food.

 

Mrs. O'Reilly was president of the Dallas Music Teachers Association from 1952 to 1954 and was named its teacher of the year in 1982 and 1987. "She did everything she could to teach young teachers to teach well," her daughter said.

 

Memorials may be made to the Dallas Music Teachers Association Eugenia O'Reilly Young Artist Scholarship, in care of Colleen Brashear, 6777 Northcreek Lane, Dallas, TX  75240.

 

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Postal address

935 Nature Drive, Duncanville TX 75116

Electronic mail

President/ General Information - Mary Ann Taylor:  mataylor7@juno.com

Mary Williams: txtravel@flash.net