“Grainger & Fennell” the topic for Sunday, July 16, 2 PM Presenation

The Percy Grainger Home & Studio (PGH&S) continues its series of themed house tours on Sunday, July 16, 2 PM, with musician Rebecca Weissman presenting a house tour emphasizing Percy Grainger’s influence on celebrated band conductor, Frederick Fennell.

Fennell, an American conductor, founded the Eastman Wind Ensemble in 1952 and visited Grainger on several occasions at 7 Cromwell Place, White Plains. A video biography released after Fennell’s passing in 2004 revealed that Grainger was the first of 450 composers to respond to Fennell’s request for compositions for the new ensemble. In Fennell's 2004 obituary, colleague Jerry F. Junkin was quoted as saying "He was arguably the most famous band conductor since John Philip Sousa."

Hudson Valley resident Rebecca Weissman is a bass clarinetist and member of the board of directors for the Westchester Symphonic Winds ("WSW") an award-winning wind ensemble based in Westchester County, New York. She is a graduate of Ithaca College and the Eastman School of Music. “It would be impossible to attend Eastman and not be aware of Fennell’s work,” Rebecca noted. “Fennell’s recordings of Grainger’s compositions and edition of Grainger’s Lincolnshire Posy are revered for an authenticity only he could achieve through his personal connection to the composer.” In addition to her musical interests, Rebecca is the founder of Two Fourteen Design, a communications company directed toward digital marketing solutions. Since Fall, 2022 she has been the Community Outreach Consultant for the Percy Grainger Society.

PGH&S “Third Sunday” House Tours are part education, part interpretation, and a fun, informative alternative to the traditional historic house tour. While a room-by-room tour is included, the focus is on one idea, with the collection providing the backdrop to illustrate and explore that idea. Led by volunteers, this outreach initiative will continue on select Sundays throughout the year.

Grainger’s Life from a Conductor’s Perspective took place earlier this year on February 19 and was presented by Curt Ebersole. Curt has served as the Conductor/Music Director (John P. Paynter Memorial Chair) of the Westchester Symphonic Winds since 2008. A longtime friend and member of PGS, Curt continues to volunteer as a tour guide for the PGH&S. The series will continue with Percy Grainger’s Free Music Machines, to be presented by Dr. Paul Jackson on September 17.

Please visit the Percy Grainger Society's events page for more information and registration. While the First Sunday events are free and open to the public, space limitations require prior registration here.

The upcoming July 16 presentation will take place at the Percy Grainger Home and Studio, a significant local landmark concerning the life and work of Australian-born Percy Grainger (1882-1961): a composer, pianist, arranger, music world celebrity of his time and larger-than-life figure with an unusually fascinating personality. For forty years, from 1921 until his death in 1961, Grainger occupied the house at 7 Cromwell Place, using it as his home base for his world tours, practice studio (there are two pianos and a harmonium inside), and laboratory for his avant-garde musical compositions and experimental music machines. After Percy Grainger’s death in 1961, his widow Ella continued to live in the house until her passing in 1979. This historic house, built in 1893, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in April of 1993.

Grainger Library of Sampled Sounds ("GLOSS") Project

While the Percy Grainger Home and Studio, and increasing its volunteer force, is certainly an important project of the Society, with membership from all over the world, membership and volunteers have undertaken many other noteworthy projects. In Fall, 2020, the Percy Grainger Society received an IMLS CARES ACT Grant (designed and administered by the Museum Association of New York) to respond to one of the biggest challenges created by the pandemic: how to reach audiences who cannot physically visit.

The Society began to identify stories from its collection, then set about developing two virtual programs during 2020–22. The first program, the Grainger Library of Sampled Sounds ("GLOSS") is a collection of recorded sounds from the Percy Grainger Home and Studio. The sounds include samples of instruments in the collection and ambient sounds from the house and neighborhood. Users will be invited to explore and use these music files to create their own musical compositions and soundscapes.

Lincolnshire Posy Collaboration with American Bandmasters Association

Another important virtual project currently underway is the celebration of the 85th Anniversary of Grainger’s famous composition for wind band, Lincolnshire Posy. This celebration began in Fall, 2021 with a performance by the Westchester Symphonic Winds, Tarrytown, New York of the six movements of Lincolnshire Posy. The anniversary year continued with a virtual presentation by Col. Jason Fettig, 28th Director of the United States Marine Band, on Friday, February 11, 2022. Entitled “A Ramble with Grainger,” Col. Fettig discussed his experience with performing Lincolnshire Posy as well as other Grainger favorites. Performance rehearsals are recorded on YouTube, with the links here.

Further virtual programs exploring the history, composition, and performance of this composition are underway during 2022 in collaboration with the American Bandmasters Association. We invite you to review the website for further information about each of these projects. www.percygrainger.org

_______________________________________________________

The Percy Grainger Society was chartered by the New York State Board of Regents in 1964. Its mission is to promote the work and legacy of Percy Grainger with a membership community that preserves his historic house, encourages appreciation and performance of his music, and promotes a deeper understanding of the cultural, social, and economic context of his life and work. For over forty years, the Percy Grainger Home and Studio has been a mainstay of the Society’s focus and houses a collection of Grainger’s music, memorabilia, and artifacts.