Page 114 - Weiss, Jernej, ur./ed. 2023. Glasbena društva v dolgem 19. stoletju: med ljubiteljsko in profesionalno kulturo ▪︎ Music societies in the long 19th century: Between amateur and professional culture. Koper/Ljubljana: Založba Univerze na Primorskem in Festival Ljubljana. Studia musicologica Labacensia, 6
P. 114
glasbena društva v dolgem 19. stoletju: med ljubiteljsko in profesionalno kulturo
ond in Shenandoah in 1877. Their number increased rapidly as Lithuanians
would come together on the basis of their professions, worldviews, or hob-
bies. All of them had their own statutes, mostly taken over from foreigners,
but adapted to their own needs. The societies took care of the education of
compatriots, of access to learning, book publishing and distribution, pres-
ervation of historical memory, support for Lithuania, and even its libera-
tion from the tsarist oppression. In 1888, the Military Society was estab-
lished in Pitstone, which sought to become the Lithuanian Guard and fight
for the freedom of the native country. In the late 19th century, there were
about 15 such guards in the USA.15 Each military society had its own uni-
form, swords, or even rifles. During holidays, their members would march
in the streets and sing military songs. In 1889, the Lithuanian Scientific
Society was established in Baltimore, which had a great influence on the
development of science and culture in emigration. It gave impetus to the
formation of the first Lithuanian theatre troupe. The Society of Homeland
Lovers, established in 1896, focused on the education of compatriots and
publication of Lithuanian books in the USA. Amateur choirs and orches-
tras formed under the societies. Ecclesiastical organizations lasted longer
because they had better operating conditions – facilities for rehearsals and
concerts as well as permanent choirmasters, while secular ones would often
break up and then re-emerge again.
Music societies also kept emerging. One of the first of them was found-
ed in New York in 1894 by choirmaster Leonas Ereminas who named it Mil
da, and then a secular men’s choir was formed under it. A year later, the So-
ciety of Musicians and Singers of King David was established in Chicago;
Dr. Vincas Kudirka Singers’ Union operated in the same city, on the basis of
which the Birutė Society with a very active choir came up; and in 1909, the
Pirmyn [Forward] Society emerged. Before the First World War, similar or-
ganizations could be found in almost every Lithuanian colony. In 1911, the
Rūta [The Rue] theatrical singer relief society started its activities; in 1912,
Garsas [The Sound] the music and drama society formed, which later be-
came known as Kanklės, followed by the Lithuanian Singers’ Society in 1913
and the Society of Lithuanian Socialist Singers in America in 1914, while in
Boston, Gabija was founded through the efforts of Mikas Petrauskas. These
societies staged operettas and gave concerts, and not only of choral but also
15 Juozas Širvydas, Biografijos bruožai [The Traits of Biography] (Cleveland: Dirva,
1941), 112.
112
ond in Shenandoah in 1877. Their number increased rapidly as Lithuanians
would come together on the basis of their professions, worldviews, or hob-
bies. All of them had their own statutes, mostly taken over from foreigners,
but adapted to their own needs. The societies took care of the education of
compatriots, of access to learning, book publishing and distribution, pres-
ervation of historical memory, support for Lithuania, and even its libera-
tion from the tsarist oppression. In 1888, the Military Society was estab-
lished in Pitstone, which sought to become the Lithuanian Guard and fight
for the freedom of the native country. In the late 19th century, there were
about 15 such guards in the USA.15 Each military society had its own uni-
form, swords, or even rifles. During holidays, their members would march
in the streets and sing military songs. In 1889, the Lithuanian Scientific
Society was established in Baltimore, which had a great influence on the
development of science and culture in emigration. It gave impetus to the
formation of the first Lithuanian theatre troupe. The Society of Homeland
Lovers, established in 1896, focused on the education of compatriots and
publication of Lithuanian books in the USA. Amateur choirs and orches-
tras formed under the societies. Ecclesiastical organizations lasted longer
because they had better operating conditions – facilities for rehearsals and
concerts as well as permanent choirmasters, while secular ones would often
break up and then re-emerge again.
Music societies also kept emerging. One of the first of them was found-
ed in New York in 1894 by choirmaster Leonas Ereminas who named it Mil
da, and then a secular men’s choir was formed under it. A year later, the So-
ciety of Musicians and Singers of King David was established in Chicago;
Dr. Vincas Kudirka Singers’ Union operated in the same city, on the basis of
which the Birutė Society with a very active choir came up; and in 1909, the
Pirmyn [Forward] Society emerged. Before the First World War, similar or-
ganizations could be found in almost every Lithuanian colony. In 1911, the
Rūta [The Rue] theatrical singer relief society started its activities; in 1912,
Garsas [The Sound] the music and drama society formed, which later be-
came known as Kanklės, followed by the Lithuanian Singers’ Society in 1913
and the Society of Lithuanian Socialist Singers in America in 1914, while in
Boston, Gabija was founded through the efforts of Mikas Petrauskas. These
societies staged operettas and gave concerts, and not only of choral but also
15 Juozas Širvydas, Biografijos bruožai [The Traits of Biography] (Cleveland: Dirva,
1941), 112.
112
