--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Horace G. Whitney collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 8 number: 8 published: 1905-06 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Horace G. Whitney, "Career of a Utah Song Bird," *Improvement Era* 8, no. 8 (June 1905): 569–574.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0808unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera0808unse start_page: 569 end_page: 574 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1905-06) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0808unse publication_year: 1905 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1905, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Career of a Utah Song Bird CAREER OF A UTAH SONG BIRD. BY HORACE G. WHITNEY. It was in the parlors of one of San Francisco's hotels — The Russ —sixteen years ago. A child of nine, a girl, sat at the piano trilling forth song after song in a language that caused her listeners to stare at each other in wonderment. They stood around in scores, the room and even the corridor being crowded, but not a soul could understand the strange tongue in which she sang, or offer any explanation as to who the child might be. She seemed entirely alone, and as entirely unconscious of the interest she was creating, until, coming to the end of a ditty, she swung around on her stool and returned in childish innocence the stare of curiosity with which she was regarded. Finally one of her auditors approached and hazarded an opening: "Can you speak English, little one?" "Oh yes, ma'am. I'm American." "Indeed, and what language was that you were singing?" "Oh that was Hawaiian?" "Who taught you?" "Oh we've been on the Sandwich Islands five years." "Who?" "Papa and mama and I." "What did you do there?" "My papa was called on a mission." "Indeed, and who called him?" "President John Taylor." "And who is President John Taylor?" "Oh, he's the President of the United States." Tableau! Further dialogue was interrupted by a smothered ejaculation on the edge of the crowd, and the child's mother hurriedly entered and bore her away captive. Emma Lucy Gates often laughs over that early experience of her childhood, and says she remembers having had simply a starving sensation to get at a piano. At the age of two she had been able to pick out the chords on the home instrument. At four she could accompany her cousin "Dan" in his singing of such old songs as "Sweet Evalina." Then came the trip to the Sandwich Islands, and the musical longings of her soul had to be satisfied with the small cabinet organ used by the Saints — and to that she only had rare access — and to a hand-made Portuguese guitar, obtained from one of the natives. "When we came to the San Francisco hotel," she says, "and I saw that big parlor piano, it really seemed as though I had caught a glimpse of heaven." During the next ten years of her life, all the time that she gave to music was devoted to instrumental work. Music, however, only took a secondary place, strong as her parents knew her talents to be. She was first of all trained to a knowledge of commonsense home life and house work. Much of the conduct of the household in Provo during those years fell upon her shoulders, the family being a large one, and her mother, Mrs. Susa Young Gates, being largely occupied with literary work, the inauguration of the successful magazine, The Young Ladies^ Journal, founded by her, belonging to that period. It was, besides, the motto of her mother that a girl's first training should fit her to govern a home of her own,and she often remarked to "Lulu"— (Emma Lucy's most famil- — "You may some day become iar name) a musician, that depends on circumstances. But yoa are sure some day to wish to marry some good man, and to become the mother of his children. Therefore, you must first of all, and last of all, prepare yourself to be a capable, dutiful wife to the man who honors you by choosing you.'' How thoroughly her household education was bestowed was evinced in later years. While pursuing her musical studies in New York, for two years she kept house, cooked, sewed, and did the other necessary labors. From the kitchen to the piano were daily pilgrimages, during the whole of the time. The writer was one of a number CAREER OF A UTAH SONG BIRD. 571 of guests invited to the Gates* housphold in New York, not long^ since, when the famous cartoonist Homer Davenport was among those entertained. Mrs. Gates was in ill health, ard Emma Lucy was cook, server, hostess and entertainer. As she came in from the kitchen, flushed from the exercise of clearing away the remains of the repast which the company had just discussed, and took her place at the piano to charm us all with an operatic aria, Mr. Davenport said, in an undertone of admiration, "I wonder where there's another girl in New York who can shine equally as a housewife and a musician as that girl does? But that's the difference between eastern and western training." It may be remarked, in passing, that Mr. Davenport and his wife have ever been among the Utah singer's staunchest friends. A few weeks ago, when Miss Gates appeared in Mendelssohn Hall, New York, Davenport hurried one of his own lectures through in order that he might take a cab, and dash across the city to be present at her number. Soon after, when he was asked, by the committee in charge of one of his lectures given at the great Astoria Hotel, to designate some singer to bear him company on the program, he immediately gave in the name of Miss Gates. All reports of the affair indicate that his choice was not misplaced. As already just stated, Emma Lucy Gates, in the ten years following her unconscious Russ House debut, gave what time she could allot to music, to instrumental work. Her voice was never thought of. was as a piano performer that all her girlish It dreams delighted in picturing herself, though she indulged a taste for the violin, and took a course of lessons under Prof. Weihe, who says he very regretfully saw her discontinue them, believing she had undoubted talent in that direction. But the piano was the special instrument of her love; at the age of twelve, she studied under Madame DeLoery, who had come to Provo, and with her she made such rapid progress that at the age of fourteen she entered the contest in the big Eisteddfod, held in the Salt Lake Tabernacle, won first place and a prize of $101 That event marked a mile post in her career, and thenceforward she had but one thought, to go abroad to study the piano. The ten dollar prize was carefully laid away as a "nest egg," and all her youthful endeavors were bent towards realizing her dream. It probably would have remained a dream, however, had not her sister, Mrs. Leah Widtsoe and her husband. Dr. Widtsoe, decided in 1898 that they would visit Germany for a course of study. Emma Lucy had continued to progress, having enrolled herself as a pupil of Prof. McCIellan, and her relatives expressed the wish that she might go abroad with them. By the generous aid of her grandmother, the late Mrs. Lucy B. Young, the young musician was enabled to bear Dr. and Mrs. Widtsoe company, and to take up the study of the piano. Up to that time, she had done little or no singing, her only vocal exercise at home having been her work as a member of the Eighteenth ward choir, where no one seems to have noticed anything out of the ordinary in her voice. In Germany, however, one of the professors, one day, heard her execute a few notes of a song. He at once urged her to take a course of vocal instruction with her piano work. The suggestion fell in with her fancy, and she went to work as actively on her voice as she had done on her instrument. The result was that in a few months all the students' quarters were talking of the new soprano and of the wonderful development of her tones. Her mother and her two grandmothers were in London attending the International Council of Women, and Emma Lucy came over from Germany to meet them. After she had sung for them, it was decided that her vocal studies must go on, and Mrs. Young returned with "Lulu" to Berlin, where the two lived for some time, the girl entering first the Royal Conservatory,, and later becoming a pupil of the famous teacher, Madame Corelli, under whose tutelage the clear, bird- like qualities of her high soprano voice were steadily and beautifully developed. It was during her Berlin stay that Miss Gates had the privilege, esteemed a very rare one among her fellow students, of singing before the German Kaiser and the royal family. She was one of a girls' quartette selected for the purpose, and her modest account of the event was contribuLed to the Deseret News at the time. It was not, by the way, her first appearance before royalty. She had had the distinction, during her parents' stay in the Sandwich Islands, of singing and dancing before the dusky queen, Kapiolani, who had warmly praised her, and invited her to the palace. The two events, widely different as they were, formed two notable spots in the Utah girl's book of remembrance. CAREER OF A UTAH SONG BIRD. 573 It was while she was studying in Berlin that the late Major Pond heard her. Immediately struck with her voice, he engaged her for an American tour in conjunction with the boy violinist, Florizel. The tour was only a brief one, owing to the boy's illness, and Miss Gates, then having decided to strive for a grand opera career, placed herself under the care of the famous teacher, Madame Ashforth, of New York, to whom much of the success of Bessie Abbott and Lillian Blauvelt is due. She has now been with her two seasons, and expects to continue another, her aim being to make her professional debut in France during 1906. She has passed several months in that country, working to perfect her French accent, and study dramatic action and dancing, indispensable accompaniments to her art. The story of Miss Gates' several home-comings, during her long course of study, is yet well remembered by the public. She has appeared with rare success with each event, first in the Tabernacle, when her beautiful voice created a sensation, later in the Theater; the following year making her bow in light opera with the Salt Lake Opera Company in The Jolly Musketeer, still remembered as the most brilliant of the organization's successes; and again, last season, in a recital of her own at the Theater, with the big Symphony Orchestra forming her support. On her first visit home she appeared in the principal cities of the state, one red letter event in her life being the benefit tendered by her to her beloved Alma Mater, the Brigham Young University, Provo. An even thousand dollars came to the institution as the result of her concert, and when asked by the president of the faculty where she would like the money applied, she replied, "Put it in the domestic science department. Few girls need to become musicians, but all ought to prepare themselves to be good wives and competent home makers." Later, at her request, the department was named, "The Lucy B. Young School of Domestic Science," in memory of the beloved grandmother who had given her money, time and strength to aid her in securing her musical education. Critics and friends well able to judge, agree that Emma Lucy has made astonishing progress since she was last heard at home. She has declined offers of large sums to sing in light opera in the east, being determined that if she is to adopt the operatic stage at all, it must be opera in its highest form. Her teacher has marked out for her certain grand opera roles, such as Mimi in La Boheme, Marguerite in Faust, and Micaela in Carmen, to which her voice, manner, and physique are specially suited. Her voice is of the pure, high, bird-like quality, described as the bel canto, the style of voice of which Melba's was the best known example, ten years ago. Probably the highest praise ever bestowed on Miss Gates was that uttered by the renowned German singer and actor, Carl Fischer, who, after hearing her last winter in New York, sent her this word: "Tell the little lady that she will one day be a world famous artist, and I say so." Equally gratifying to her was the pathetic farewell of her former manager, Major Pond, who died but recently. On seeing her embark for Paris, he said, "The old major will not live to see your triumph, Lucy, but it will come, and when it does, tell the world that the major never made a mistake in genius." It is most pleasant to know that the many friends of this typical "Mormon," characteristically western will have one girl, more opportunity to greet her before she goes abroad to enter upon her professional career. Her approaching visit home will be made the occasion of a grand popular concert at the Tabernacle to be held during the June conference of the Mutual Improvement Associations. It is most appropriate that Emma Lucy Gates should be tendered such a welcome, and receive such a distinction at the hands of the young people of the Church, for she is prouder of no thing than of the fact that she is herself one of the young people of Zion. From her earliest youth she has had the most rigid kind of religious training, but religious duties were always a pleasure to her, and fewer more devout Latter-day Saints can be found than she. She was baptized on her eighth birthday, in the Pacific ocean, by her father. Her name is to be found upon the tithing records of many places where she has sojourned. She has ever baen ready to exercise her vocal gifts in the missionary cause abroad, and President Lyman is fond of narrating how the young girl, by lifting her sweet voice in a sacred song, on more than one occasion, quelled the disorderly elements that came into