NFMC

An historic undertaking and one never before attempted by NFMC was the gigantic effort put forth by the President to seek a Congressional Charter for NFMC. Mrs. Honigman made a special trip to Washington to confer with Senator Sam J. Ervin, Jr. who agreed to compose and introduce the bill in the Senate. President Honigman served as first and only chairman being reelected by the Board of Directors at each Biennial Convention until the Charter was finally passed and signed by President Reagan 14 years later. The following Citation was presented to Mrs. Honigman: "In deep appreciation and admiration for a lifetime of dedication to music and musicians of all ages, the Board of Directors of the American Symphony League elects Hinda Honigman Honorary Lifetime Board Member this 16th day of June 1981 — National Conference, Dallas, Texas." This special recognition is the first and only one of its kind ever presented in the history of the American Symphony Orchestra League.
The twenty-second president of the National Federation of Music Clubs was Dr. Merle Montgomery, New York. She was elected in 1971 and served a four year term. Dr. Montgomery wrote the following assessment of her administration. "During her administration the Federation celebrated a Diamond Jubilee in Atlantic City. All national projects already in force were continued. Among the new projects during her regime were:
The People-to-People trip to Belgium, England, Russia and France, the first ever scheduled by musicians;
The trip to Israel, Cyprus, and Greece which sponsored the first Federation group to give concerts in a foreign land;
The first National Federation of Music Club artist to tour Africa under U.S. State Department auspices;
The three Tully Hall Concerts that presented two Artist Winners — Claudette Sorel and Ida Krehm — and a foreign artist — Philip Cho, the latter for the benefit of NFMC International Activities.
American Music sponsorship included the purchase of 2,000 records featuring American composers and sending them to 72 radio stations for broadcasting, and the completion of plans for the Bicentennial Parade of American Music, which included 52 concerts at the Kennedy Center (one from each state, 2 from the District of Columbia), a 13 week series of radio programs featuring state composers in every state, and the placing of bronze plaques honoring American Musicians who have made significant contributions to our country. NFMC won its first Freedom Foundation Medal, helped to put John Philip Sousa into the Hall of Fame; presented Van Cliburn in concert; held a benefit for one Past National President's Fund and suggested that the endowment for each of the living Past National Presidents should be completed during her lifetime. When the four years were over, the President had been in each of the 50 states, had toured the N.E. Region and had gone to the Bahamas and Hawaii with the Southeastern Region, in addition to the foreign missions She had also attended each meeting of the National Music Council and had written thousands of notes from sea to shining sea. Best of all, perhaps, membership had increased!"
(1975-1979) NFMC's twenty-third president was Mrs. Frank A Vought of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She was elected at the 1975 Biennial in Atlanta, Georgia, reelected in 1977 and finished her term of office as president, in Portland, Oregon, 1979. Coinciding with the close of U.S.A. Second Century and the beginning of its third, her administration highlights include:
THe participation of a nationwide "Bicentennial Parade of American Music" (1975-1976) administered by NFMC;
The sponsoring at Columbia University, New York, of a concert featuring distinguished women composers, conductors, performers, and University Orchestra;
The Hunter College Playhouse presentation of one act operas by women composers (These operas were presented by professional casts and the New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra. The were given on two consecutive dates, open to the public without charge, and one performance was especially for youth. The New York critics acclaimed this program of opera as a "landmark event, a historic innovation.");
The completion of endowment for scholarships honoring three past national presidents;
The receiving of donations and legacies for new scholarships and awards (New legacies and gifts totaled over $160,500 — Agnes Fowler from Ohio left a legacy of $130,000 a second Irene S. Muir Scholarship was given in voice for $1,000, thus providing one each in man's and woman's voice; a Thor Johnson Award was created in chamber music; a Josef Kaspar Scholarship in violin was made possible by a contribution from a former student of his, and given in his honor; two special scholarships for the blind were given — one named for Paul W. Bensinger, and one in memory of Dr. Robert E. Menees, 1979);
At Mrs. Vought's recommendation, the NFMC Young Artist Winners Awards were raised to $5,000 (effective at the 1981 Auditions), the result of an Agnes Fowler Supplementary Award. In the closing months of this administration, climaxing a ten year fund raising program, NFMC purchased historic Eden-Talbott House, Indianapolis, Indiana to become the permanent National Headquarters. In Indianapolis, Jan. 5, 1979, President Vought signed the legal purchase agreement, and made the initial payment. On April 26, 1979 after Board and Convention action, she forwarded the cash payment for the property. Transfer of ownership occurred early in the new administration.
(1979-1983) Mrs. Jack Christopher Ward, Greenville, South Carolina, was elected twenty-fourth president of the National Federation of Music Clubs in Portland, Oregon, and reelected April 25, 1981, in Birmingham, Alabama. Her theme, "Serving Mankind Through Music," and "When You Give of Yourself" by Stanley Adams, her theme song (a first for NFMC presidents) have best portrayed this administration. Two weeks after her election, on May 15, 1979, the Eden-Talbott Mansion in Indianapolis, Indiana, was deeded to NFMC. Restoration began that year, and on October 19, 1980, the mansion was formally dedicated as the Headquarters of the National Federation of Music Clubs. A Headquarters Endowment Fund, established in 1981 for permanent maintenance of the building, reached more than $152,000 by the end of the administration. On August 9, 1982, President Reagan signed Public Law #97231 granting a Federal Charter to the National Federation of Music Clubs. It thus became the third music organization in America so honored. Two American compositions were commissioned: "Prelude and Dance," Opus 120, a piano duo by Paul Creston, was world premiered in 1983 at the Columbus, Ohio Biennial; and a piano concerto, to be composed by John LaMontaine, with the date of world premiere, and the performing orchestra to be announced upon completion of the concerto. Gary Steigerwald, pianist, has been commissioned to perform with the premiering orchestra. Twelve new awards and scholarships were endowed during this administration. Mr. Louis Sudler, Chicago, Illinois, was elected to honorary membership in National Federation of Music Clubs. Young Artist Awards were increased from $3,000 to $5,000, the larger award being given for the first time at the 1981 Birmingham Alabama Biennial. A careful administration and sound investments enabled this administration to close with a total cash increase of almost one-half million dollars.
Mrs. Dwight D. Robinson, the twenty-fifth president of NFMC, was elected in 1983 in Columbus, Ohio, and reelected for a second term in Wichita, Kansas, 1985. Mrs Robinson has used as her theme, "Looking to the Future, Our Talented Youth."
In reviewing the past history of the organization and the projects and activities of its wonderful past national presidents that have made their tenures of office successful, its present members "look to the future" with zeal and determination to follow their lead that they may "make America truly musical" through their beloved National Federation of Music Clubs.