Interview with Norton Appleton and Grace Thompson Edmister - History of Albuquerque Civic Orchestra, recorded by James Wright, Santa Fe, NM, June 1973
File — Box: 1, CD: 14.1
Scope and Content
From the Collection:
The original Curtis field recordings have been reformatted to CDs from reel to reel tapes. As in the goal of the Robb archive, Curtis and her associates at the Fine Arts Library have captured part of the rich musical heritage and history of the people of New Mexico. The collection includes both music and oral interviews.
Among the recording are Navajo morning songs and blessing ways, a Navajo music and dance workshop, Keresan children’s play - game songs, Laguna and other Pueblo songs, and All American Championship Indian powwow dances in the Mescalero Reservation and Ruidoso, New Mexico. The collection contains Native American recordings made in New Mexico by Philip Encino and Lorenzo Aragon. In addition, there are songs from the South Cheyenne, other Plains Indians and the Indians of Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia and Ayacucho, Peru. Among the Hispanic or Spanish pieces are traditional and original New Mexican and Mexican folk songs, alabados and matachines from San Jose parish, Albuquerque and Spanish Christmas shepherd pageants in Albuquerque. There are also songs from Holy Week passion celebrations in Villanueva and Tome, New Mexico; Cordova, Spain; and among the Tarahumara Indians, from Cusarare, in Chihuahua, Mexico. These recordings feature the native instruments of the Tarahumara - flutes, drums and the chapareque. Other recordings contain Spanish music at a UNM campus Cinco de Mayo Celebration, Catholic masses and church music programs, Spanish wedding music, and popular Spanish dance bands. Included also are recorded lectures by Cleofes Vigil on New Mexico Hispanic music traditions and on New Mexico territorial corridos or ballads by Ruben Cobos. Represented also are Anglo American old time fiddle contests in Portales, New Mexico, country western music from Clovis, and cowboy songs performed by Steve Cormier. There are also recordings of African American religious gospel music from Mount Olive Baptist Church and Grant Chapel, in Albuquerque.
Charlemaud Curtis and her associates also conducted interviews with old timers from Albuquerque, Santa Rosa, Clovis, La Joya and Lordsburg. Sometimes they did them during the music events they were taping and other times made special trips to record people. Individuals were also making interesting comments within the various musical programs as they were being taped. Some were individuals that Curtis knew through her family or were folks she met in her recording trips. The interviews represent the views of a Mexican American immigrant as well as several Hispanics and Anglo Americans.
One set of interviews covers the history of the development of music institutions in Albuquerque, including the UNM music department and local community concerts, opera, and the civic orchestra. Another group of interviews deals with Santa Rosa, New Mexico - giving both the Spanish and Anglo American view of the town’s development. They tell about the town and area history, cattle and sheep ranching, the first water and electric facilities, and the impact of the railroad and interstate highway on the town (Route 66) and the depression. There are also accounts of early American pioneers in Santa Rosa, doctors and the 1918 flu epidemic, Hispanic distrust of Santa Rosa bankers, trading at stores on credit, and the working of the sheep partido system in the area. Also included are stories of the early New Mexico Spanish settlers’ hardy faith, team spirit, foods and songs. Others describe making santos with a machete and local dyes, Spanish place names, the Santa Fe Trail and San Miguel County politics. In a 1976 interview, Judge Moise, from Santa Rosa, comments on Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me Ultima, a novel based in Santa Rosa . We also learn about early Anglo American ranch families in Clovis and an Anglo American pioneer woman’s life in Quay County. Covered, too, are the views of a Mexican American man in Lordsburg on migrant farm labor, working for the railroad, local foods and getting his first social security checks from the government. There are also discussions of the origin and characters of the Los Pastores performances at San Jose parish, in the south valley of Albuquerque and the history of La Joya land grant, Thomas Campbell, the church and school, and that town’s fiesta traditions.
There are program flyers and/or notes from a couple of these events in Box 2. This collection is part of the John Donald Robb Archive of Southwestern Music.
Among the recording are Navajo morning songs and blessing ways, a Navajo music and dance workshop, Keresan children’s play - game songs, Laguna and other Pueblo songs, and All American Championship Indian powwow dances in the Mescalero Reservation and Ruidoso, New Mexico. The collection contains Native American recordings made in New Mexico by Philip Encino and Lorenzo Aragon. In addition, there are songs from the South Cheyenne, other Plains Indians and the Indians of Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia and Ayacucho, Peru. Among the Hispanic or Spanish pieces are traditional and original New Mexican and Mexican folk songs, alabados and matachines from San Jose parish, Albuquerque and Spanish Christmas shepherd pageants in Albuquerque. There are also songs from Holy Week passion celebrations in Villanueva and Tome, New Mexico; Cordova, Spain; and among the Tarahumara Indians, from Cusarare, in Chihuahua, Mexico. These recordings feature the native instruments of the Tarahumara - flutes, drums and the chapareque. Other recordings contain Spanish music at a UNM campus Cinco de Mayo Celebration, Catholic masses and church music programs, Spanish wedding music, and popular Spanish dance bands. Included also are recorded lectures by Cleofes Vigil on New Mexico Hispanic music traditions and on New Mexico territorial corridos or ballads by Ruben Cobos. Represented also are Anglo American old time fiddle contests in Portales, New Mexico, country western music from Clovis, and cowboy songs performed by Steve Cormier. There are also recordings of African American religious gospel music from Mount Olive Baptist Church and Grant Chapel, in Albuquerque.
Charlemaud Curtis and her associates also conducted interviews with old timers from Albuquerque, Santa Rosa, Clovis, La Joya and Lordsburg. Sometimes they did them during the music events they were taping and other times made special trips to record people. Individuals were also making interesting comments within the various musical programs as they were being taped. Some were individuals that Curtis knew through her family or were folks she met in her recording trips. The interviews represent the views of a Mexican American immigrant as well as several Hispanics and Anglo Americans.
One set of interviews covers the history of the development of music institutions in Albuquerque, including the UNM music department and local community concerts, opera, and the civic orchestra. Another group of interviews deals with Santa Rosa, New Mexico - giving both the Spanish and Anglo American view of the town’s development. They tell about the town and area history, cattle and sheep ranching, the first water and electric facilities, and the impact of the railroad and interstate highway on the town (Route 66) and the depression. There are also accounts of early American pioneers in Santa Rosa, doctors and the 1918 flu epidemic, Hispanic distrust of Santa Rosa bankers, trading at stores on credit, and the working of the sheep partido system in the area. Also included are stories of the early New Mexico Spanish settlers’ hardy faith, team spirit, foods and songs. Others describe making santos with a machete and local dyes, Spanish place names, the Santa Fe Trail and San Miguel County politics. In a 1976 interview, Judge Moise, from Santa Rosa, comments on Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me Ultima, a novel based in Santa Rosa . We also learn about early Anglo American ranch families in Clovis and an Anglo American pioneer woman’s life in Quay County. Covered, too, are the views of a Mexican American man in Lordsburg on migrant farm labor, working for the railroad, local foods and getting his first social security checks from the government. There are also discussions of the origin and characters of the Los Pastores performances at San Jose parish, in the south valley of Albuquerque and the history of La Joya land grant, Thomas Campbell, the church and school, and that town’s fiesta traditions.
There are program flyers and/or notes from a couple of these events in Box 2. This collection is part of the John Donald Robb Archive of Southwestern Music.
Dates
- June 1973
Language of Materials
From the Collection:
English Spanish
Access Restrictions
The collection is open for research.
Extent
From the Collection: 3 boxes (.45 cu. ft., including 89 CDs and 5 folders)
General
The session begins with performance on piano Spanish Waltz, written and performed by Grace Thompson Edmister. She tells how when she played this on the radio one time, this is what they allowed her to play the organ in Salt Lake City. Norton begins talking about the Yamaha pianos. They begin talking about the qualities of sound between different pianos, Stein, Yamaha, etc. She discusses how when she came to New Mexico she came here on a stretcher due to her health – (lunger, tuberculosis). Norton tells how he had a fellowship from the University of Pennsylvania to work study malaria in the bird populations. Grace then talks about her time living in various places in the East, Florida, Ohio, and New York. She began playing piano in numerous churches as a substitute organist. She discusses the Harlan Club and all the wonderful programming with guest artists that they would bring in. She narrates one story when a guest vocalist was up on stage and he needed an accompanist so he called out to the audience to see if there was a pianist in the crowd. Grace volunteered to play. After they performed the audience gave an ovation. There were newspaper articles about this event, which was the seminal event introducing her to the musical community in New York. However after enough time in New York, dealing with all the weather issues, she felt that she wanted to return to Albuquerque to be in the sun. She discusses some of the social dynamics between the players and Grace as the director, and how some of the players tested her authority, but then after time she became respected in her authority. Norton discusses a series of concerts beginning with the first at the Scottish Rite Temple in Santa Fe, with a string quartet program. Mr. Becker and Mr. Greer are mentioned in the discussion about the formation of a concert at the Lensic Theater in Santa Fe. Robert Castle was a soloist singer that they invited for one program. Castle was an American consul who married a Russian. Sarah Frank Evangeletus was a Hungarian who married a Greek, Mr. Evangeletus, who was part of an ensemble that Norton Appleton formed. She also came to Albuquerque for her health – (lunger, tuberculosis). He discusses how temperamental she was. They discuss other teachers on faculty in the UNM music department and other musicians in the city. He tells how Sarah and her husband split and sometime thereafter the husband committed suicide. Becker is mentioned again, who was a trained surgeon; however he did not succeed at this profession in Albuquerque. In addition to organizing concerts, Norton taught five years, during which time he was still maintaining a family ranch and there was a caterpillar infestation. He talks about how he made a personal attempt to utilize a biological control to control the caterpillars. He then began writing for the New Mexico Magazine about the projects that were happening in order to gain support from the EPA – Environmental Protection Agency – in Washington. Finally support was given, and Appleton was given a laboratory to study the parasite that could be used for bio–control. Ultimately through his work they were able to control the epidemic. He continued to go to Washington to get funding every six months. Ultimately the Sierra Club was interested in his work and they published an article on Appleton’s work.
Repository Details
Part of the UNM Center for Southwest Research & Special Collections Repository
Contact:
University of New Mexico Center for Southwest Research & Special Collections
University Libraries, MSC05 3020
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque NM 87131
505-277-6451
University of New Mexico Center for Southwest Research & Special Collections
University Libraries, MSC05 3020
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque NM 87131
505-277-6451