Piano Notes

When we moved to Valparaiso, Indiana, from Chicago, I was six years old. My father bought a lovely little bungalow in a new subdivision. It was called McIntyre Court and had impressive stone pillars at the entrance to the Court. Ours was the last house on the street. I remember that Dad paid $6,000.00 for the house. Mother and Dad had friends in Valparaiso, a Mr. and Mrs. Bailey. Mr. Bailey was a lawyer and Mrs. Bailey was an accomplished pianist. It was decided that I would take piano lessons with Mrs. Bailey. I liked her very much and I think she was a good piano teacher. My parents purchased a beautiful piano. I had to practice an hour every day. I resented this because it was 4:00 o'clock before I got home from school and, by the time I finished practicing for an hour, it was almost suppertime. I had no time to play with the other children in the neighbourhood. I worked religiously on my scales and arpeggios. I used to go to Mrs. (Violet) Bailey's for my lessons. She lived in a duplex and there was a Greek family living upstairs. Sometimes, Auntie Vi would take me up to visit them. Theirs was a fascinating kitchen and reeked from the braided strings of garlic and onions hanging from a beam in the ceiling. They loved the name, Phyllis, and named their new baby after me, which I thought was quite an honour.

Later we moved to Cadillac, Michigan, where I took piano lessons with a Mr. Dahlberg. He was Swedish and a very young man - an accomplished musician whom I enjoyed studying with. My first solo was at a Salvation Army meeting. While I was playing, there were repeated comments from the audience such as "Hallelujah", and "Amen". I found this somewhat distracting.

When we moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, I was enrolled at the Carl Amhersch School of Music. I was with them for three years and graduated as a star pupil. At that time I was quite an accomplished performer and played all my pieces from memory. They wanted me to go on and become a concert pianist but mother put her foot down and would not allow it. She didn't like the idea of me going on the road and having to practice hours every day to build up a repertoire.

While in Grand Rapids I had a very special friend, Mildred Hample. She had been born in Alabama and had a delightful southern accent. She was a very good violinist, so we played music a lot. Sometimes, we would perform in public for church suppers and the like. Later on we formed a musical ensemble with some other girls. We had piano, 1st and 2nd violin, viola, cello and bass viol. We used to practice every Sunday afternoon. We played classical chamber music and were quite in demand for social functions in Grand Rapids. We also used to perform on the two radio stations in Grand Rapids, WOOD and WASH. These were happy days indeed.

When I came to live in Chatham I took organ lessons from Whitney Scherer at Christ Church. I had a great deal of difficulty mastering the foot pedals but worked hard at it. I soon became sufficiently competent and took on the job as organist and choir leader at Holy Trinity Church.

Later I studied organ with William Hogarth - an English organist who was a graduate of the Royal College of Musicians in London, England. He was a master of improvisation and was so well versed in interpretations of hymns and church liturgy that it opened up whole new vistas for me. He, also, was an expert in training choirs, especially boy's voices.

I started Junior, Intermediate and Senior choirs at Holy Trinity. At the same time I was teaching Music, Art and Ceramics at the Ontario Hospital School at Cedar Springs, Ontario. I look back now and wonder how I did all this. I taught for 12 years at Cedar Springs and had all classes of children from Kindergarten to Grade 8. I taught blind children, handicapped children and mongoloids. It was a gratifying experience for me and for the children. They loved music and I used to go by bus all over the county with my classes to sing for the public. They would often get a standing ovation for their efforts.

After a very serious automobile accident, I had to give up my post as organist at Holy Trinity Church. When I retired from teaching, I gave up music altogether. After 17 years at Holy Trinity and 12 years at the Ontario Hospital School at Cedar Springs, I had been saturated with music and had no desire to perform. I do not miss it. The music went out of my life when my dear husband died and I do not care if I ever play again. I live with my happy memories of those productive years and I am at peace.

Piano Notes How I Learned to play the Piano

	When we moved to Valparaiso, Indiana, from Chicago, I was six years old. My father bought a lovely little bungalow in a new subdivision. It was called McIntyre Court and had impressive stone pillars at the entrance to the Court. Ours was the last house on the street. I remember that Dad paid $6,000.00 for the house. Mother and Dad had friends in Valparaiso, a Mr. and Mrs. Bailey. Mr. Bailey was a lawyer and Mrs. Bailey was an accomplished pianist. It was decided that I would take piano lessons with Mrs. Bailey. I liked her very much and I think she was a good piano teacher. My parents purchased a beautiful piano. I had to practice an hour every day. I resented this because it was 4:00 o'clock before I got home from school and, by the time I finished practicing for an hour, it was almost suppertime. I had no time to play with the other children in the neighbourhood. I worked religiously on my scales and arpeggios. I used to go to Mrs. (Violet) Bailey's for my lessons. She lived in a duplex and there was a Greek family living upstairs. Sometimes, Auntie Vi would take me up to visit them. Theirs was a fascinating kitchen and reeked from the braided strings of garlic and onions hanging from a beam in the ceiling. They loved the name, Phyllis, and named their new baby after me, which I thought was quite an honour. Later we moved to Cadillac, Michigan, where I took piano lessons with a Mr. Dahlberg. He was Swedish and a very young man - an accomplished musician whom I enjoyed studying with. My first solo was at a Salvation Army meeting. While I was playing, there were repeated comments from the audience such as "Hallelujah", and "Amen". I found this somewhat distracting. When we moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, I was enrolled at the Carl Amhersch School of Music. I was with them for three years and graduated as a star pupil. At that time I was quite an accomplished performer and played all my pieces from memory. They wanted me to go on and become a concert pianist but mother put her foot down and would not allow it. She didn't like the idea of me going on the road and having to practice hours every day to build up a repertoire. While in Grand Rapids I had a very special friend, Mildred Hample. She had been born in Alabama and had a delightful southern accent. She was a very good violinist, so we played music a lot. Sometimes, we would perform in public for church suppers and the like. Later on we formed a musical ensemble with some other girls. We had piano, 1st and 2nd violin, viola, cello and bass viol. We used to practice every Sunday afternoon. We played classical chamber music and were quite in demand for social functions in Grand Rapids. We also used to perform on the two radio stations in Grand Rapids, WOOD and WASH. These were happy days indeed. When I came to live in Chatham I took organ lessons from Whitney Scherer at Christ Church. I had a great deal of difficulty mastering the foot pedals but worked hard at it. I soon became sufficiently competent and took on the job as organist and choir leader at Holy Trinity Church. Later I studied organ with William Hogarth - an English organist who was a graduate of the Royal College of Musicians in London, England. He was a master of improvisation and was so well versed in interpretations of hymns and church liturgy that it opened up whole new vistas for me. He, also, was an expert in training choirs, especially boy's voices. I started Junior, Intermediate and Senior choirs at Holy Trinity. At the same time I was teaching Music, Art and Ceramics at the Ontario Hospital School at Cedar Springs, Ontario. I look back now and wonder how I did all this. I taught for 12 years at Cedar Springs and had all classes of children from Kindergarten to Grade 8. I taught blind children, handicapped children and mongoloids. It was a gratifying experience for me and for the children. They loved music and I used to go by bus all over the county with my classes to sing for the public. They would often get a standing ovation for their efforts. After a very serious automobile accident, I had to give up my post as organist at Holy Trinity Church. When I retired from teaching, I gave up music altogether. After 17 years at Holy Trinity and 12 years at the Ontario Hospital School at Cedar Springs, I had been saturated with music and had no desire to perform. I do not miss it. The music went out of my life when my dear husband died and I do not care if I ever play again. I live with my happy memories of those productive years and I am at peace.