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Show Marriage Makes Career Says Woman Conductor By Daniel I. McNamara . . - it , , . - - Gena Branscombe, as.c.v.p., -Jr j t conducting a chorus rehearsal. le " I Gena Branscombe, a.s.c.a.p., conducting a chorus rehearsal. -ftUSICIAN, author, composer, ivi. educator and organizer of choral cho-ral groups, clubwoman and yet time to bo a wife, and mother of three daughters. That is Gena Branscombe, one of over a hundred women members of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. "Marriage did not halt my musical mu-sical career, which began really at six and which has beeu the driving force of my life," says Miss Branscombe. Brans-combe. who is Mrs. John Ferguson Tenney when the Lucy Stoners aren't looking. "Life is big enough for both," she added. "I was determined to be known, not merely as the wife of a New York lawyer, but as an entity in the world of music. I was born in Pic-ton, Pic-ton, Ontario, bu', did not remain in Canada. "To pursue my musical career I studied first in America, then in European countries under Humper-dink Humper-dink (composer of the opera "Hansel "Han-sel and Gretel") and others. Twice I won the gold medal of the Chicago Musical College. "Marriage, and a family, mean everything to me, as an individual, but I feel that music makes me part of the world, and I want to do my part." At first Miss Branscombe specialized spe-cialized in composition; then began writing lyrics and music together. Now there are more than one hundred hun-dred published works of her creation, crea-tion, and even more in manuscript, many of the latter having been used in public performances. Her compositions include widely varied types of choral works, pieces for piano, for violin, for orchestra and for the stage. Her "Festival Prelude" Pre-lude" for orchestra, written for a MacDowell program in Peterborough, Peterbor-ough, has been performed in New York and San Francisco. Her "Pilgrims of Destiny," a large work for solo chorus and orchestra (Music Features & received its first performance as the final event of the bi-ennial convention conven-tion of the National Federation of Music Clubs at Boston in 1929. Her elaborate choral work, "Youth of the World," a cycle for chorus of women's voices, has been acclaimed not only for its musical qualities, but for its implications of cooperation for world peace, a theme dear to her. She has been guest conductor of . the performance of this work in London and in Chicago, where it was performed to the accompaniment accompani-ment of the Chicago Women's Symphony Sym-phony Orchestra. Miss Branscombe is organiser and conductor of the Branscombe Choral, made up of seventy New York business women with whom music is an avocation. They are a standard radio attraction. Miss Branscombe is an active clubwoman, vice president of the National Association of Conductors and Composers, a member of the Musicians' Club and of the New . York Altrusa Club. She was National Na-tional Chairman of American Music in the General Federation of Women's Wo-men's Clubs from 1930 to 1935, and ' for two years was president of the Society of American Women Composers. Com-posers. Of her three daughters, her namesake name-sake and first, Gena, is carrying on the musical tradition. She was the first American student to win the Foli scholarship in composition at the Royal College of Music in London. Lon-don. Vivian is an honor student and prize winner at Cornell University Uni-versity School of Medicine. Beatrice Bea-trice is president of the Junior class at Barnard. Although born in Canada, Miss Branscombe is of ancient New York lineage, dating from 1640. She has an attractive summer home on the ancestral acreage in Mahopac Falls, Putnam County. Photo Syndicate) |