B Sharp Music Club, New Orleans, Louisiana Records

Collection

Identifier: 030

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The records of the B Sharp Music Club include correspondence, clippings, programs, photographs, and typescripts of the club's historys. Items document the founding of the club by Camille Nickerson and the activities of the organization, such as the Pleasant Hour Christmas program, Scholarship Luncheon, and the Junior B Sharp Music Club. Photographs document various meetings, programs, and recitals. Performers include Dr. Frederick B. Hall, Moses Hogan, Debria Brown, John Wesley Work, Roger Dickerson, Mable Sylvester Melacher, Tourgee DeBose, Florence Cole Talbert, Kemper Harrel, Lucretia Mitchell, Frank Harrison, Jacob Lower, and Clarence Cameron White. Osceola Blanchet served as accompanist for several performing artists. Members of the organization are represented in the records and includes Lucille Hutton, Sybil Morial, Lillian D. Perry, Clifton Johnson, Jessie Covington Dent, Lillian B. Dunn, Charles B. Rousseve, and longtime president Robert N. Perry, Jr.

Dates

Created: 1925-1998

Creator

B Sharp Music Club (New Orleans, Louisiana) (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright to these papers has not been assigned to the Amistad Research Center. It is the responsibility of an author to secure permission for publication from the holder of the copyright to any material obtain in this collection.

Historical Note

The B Sharp Music Club was founded in 1917 by Camille Nickerson, a pianist and internationally recognized authority on Creole music. The objective of the group was the enrichment of their own appreciation of music through association and study together via monthly meetings. Under the first three presidents of the club - Camille Nickerson, Albert Edwards, and Lucille Hutton - the main focus was in club work. Under later presidents (Eloise A. Thornhill, Dr. Charles H. D. Bowers, Mayme Osby Brown, Camille P. McCann, Lillian Dunn Perry, Ernest Black-Tillman, Robert N. Perry, and Florence E. Borders), more efforts were made to have the club take its place as an influential organization in the cultural life of the city.

In 1921, the first artists' recital was given and the group became a working branch of the National Association of Negro Musicians, Inc. The following year, the club began the "Pleasant Hour" programs which were free public events and the Junior B Sharp Music Club was formed as a group for young musicians. In 1951, the club began issuing scholarships to student musicians at local universities and to well-known musicians for public performance. In 1954, the club hosted the national convention for the National Association of Negro Musicians, Inc.

The Club remained active throughout the 20th century.

Extent

0.80 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Physical Access Requirements

Audiovisual materials are stored offsite. Please contact the Reference Desk of the Amistad Research Center for inquiries.

Method of Acquisition

Original donation received in 1983. Accruals received in 1994, 1997, and 2000.

Related Materials

Lucille L. Hutton papers; Dunn-Landry family papers; Robert N. and Lillian Dunn Perry papers; Dent Family papers; Charles B. Rousseve papers; Osceola Blanchet papers.