Walter Dawley

Walter Gardner Dawley (1885-1961) was an American organist from Providence, Rhode Island and later Hartford, Connecticut. He was the chief organist at the former Poli's Capitol Theatre of Hartford and was one of the first organists to play for radio broadcast. He was also a founder of the Connecticut Council of the National Association of Organists,[1] predecessor to the American Guild of Organists.

Early life and education

Walter Gardner Dawley was born on November 23, 1885 in Providence, Rhode Island, the eldest son of Daniel D. and Katie Connelly Dawley.[2][3] His father, Daniel, was a jeweler by trade. Walter Dawley first played organ as an assistant to organist William Harkness Arnold at All Saints Memorial Church in his youth.[4] He also played piano while attending Providence Technical High School in the Class of 1905,[5] playing for and organizing school music events.[6] Dawley was a pupil of piano instructor Alzada J. Sprague of Providence.[7] He first attended New York University in the summer of 1908.[4] He studied organ at the New England Conservatory, the Institute of Musical Art[8] and abroad under English professor and organist Joseph Cox Bridge.[2][9] Dawley later studied at Cornell University under Arthur Edward Johnstone.[8]

Career

While in Providence, Walter Dawley was the organist of the First Presbyterian Church, the Pilgrim Congregational Church,[4] the Church of the Mediator,[10][11] St. Stephen's Episcopal Church and Grace Church.[4][8] He was also an instructor at the Middlesex School, St. George's School[2][3] and the "School of Church Music" at the Episcopal Theological School of Cambridge in 1915 and 1916 with Peter C. Lutkin, Charles Winfred Douglas and Walter J. Clemson.[12][13] He married soprano and concert artist Olive Emory Russell in 1917,[14][15][16] who also taught at the Middlesex School.[17]

Following a period as a music instructor[18][19] and organist in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, he removed to Hartford, Connecticut. Dawley was the chief organist at S.Z. Poli's Capitol Theatre in Hartford by 1924.[20][21] He accompanied silent films shown at the Capitol Theatre as early as 1921.[22] He performed on a large theatre-style Möller organ.[23] During his tenure, he accompanied various ensembles and opera singers, including Rosa Ponselle, John McCormack and Edgar Schofield.[24] In 1925, he performed Theodore Dubuois' Fantaisie Triomphale with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra (not to be confused with the ensemble of the same name founded in 1934) at Poli's Capitol Theatre.[8][23] Dawley also notably played The Sunken Cathedral by Debussy from memory, with the Philadelphia Orchestra.[25] He was later an organ soloist and accompanist for guest stars visiting Bushnell Memorial Hall in Hartford.[26][27] He participated in concerts for the Tercentary celebration of Hartford at Bushnell Memorial in August 1936.[28] He also appeared alongside Glenn Miller's Army Air Force band at Bushnell Memorial in September 1943 playing military music for a war bond event.[29]

In association with Clarence D. Tuska and the Radio Relay League, Dawley was among the first organists to play for radio in 1922 at station WQB.[30][2][9] He continued to play organ for broadcasts from Hartford station WDAK that same year.[31] The performances were broadcast live from Poli's Capitol Theatre in Hartford.[32] Dawley also played the organ for station WTIC of Hartford.[33][34] He was the first organist to broadcast over station WTIC in 1925.[2][9] He was later the host of "Over the Coffee Table" and "Melodies for the Folks at Home" on WTIC.[35][36][37] His solo organ concerts at Bushnell Memorial Hall were also broadcast from WTIC and via the National Broadcasting Company network.[38][39] His performances were later broadcast on station WDRC.[40]

In November 1928, Walter Dawley was one of the founding members of the Connecticut Council of the National Association of Organists.[1]

Dawley left the Capitol Theatre and retired his WTIC remote broadcasts from the same venue by 1930. He resumed playing for churches in the 1930s in Hartford and surrounding towns. He was organist at the Christian Science and Unitarian Church in Hartford before 1936.[41][42] In addition to playing for church services, he played electric organs installed at the former Heublein Hotel and Sage-Allen department store in Hartford.[43] He also demonstrated Hammond organs for Watkins Brothers music store of the city.[44][45]

Volunteer work and later years

Dawley was known in Hartford for playing the organ annually for The Hartford Times' sponsored, Christmas Carol Sing,[46][47] beginning in 1933.[48][9] At the height of the Great Depression, he sponsored concerts for unemployed musicians to play in Bushnell Park in Hartford.[49] In 1945, he played the organ during a production by the Army Signal Corps at the Conrose Skating Rink in Hartford promoting blind G.I.s.[50]

Walter Dawley was last organist for the roller rink at Babb's Beach Amusement Park in Suffield,[51][52] Connecticut up until his death in 1961.

References

  1. ^ a b Nevins, Willard (January 1, 1929). "Connecticut Council". The Diapason. 20 (2): 20.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Walter Dawley" (PDF). Manchester Herald. Thomas Ferguson. September 5, 1961.
  3. ^ a b "Walter Dawley, Musician, Dies Tuesday at 75". The Farmington Valley Herald. September 7, 1961.
  4. ^ a b c d "Notable Career of Providence Organist". Musical America. 11 (22): 33. April 9, 1910.
  5. ^ "Big Crowd Greets the Tech. Grads". The Providence News. Heaton, Langtry & Co. June 28, 1905.
  6. ^ "Unique Entertainment". The Providence News. Heaton, Langtry & Co. January 14, 1905.
  7. ^ "Miss Sprague's Pupils Did Well". The News-Democrat. The News Pub. Co. May 31, 1906.
  8. ^ a b c d "Dawley to Play with Symphony". The Hartford Courant. The Hartford Courant Company. March 15, 1925.
  9. ^ a b c d "Walter Dawley, 75, Dies; Famed Hartford Organist". The Hartford Courant. The Hartford Courant Company. September 6, 1961.
  10. ^ "Providence Music". The Musical Courier. 62 (2): 15. January 11, 1911.
  11. ^ "From Ocean to Ocean". Musical America. 16 (21): 30. September 28, 1912.
  12. ^ "School of Church Music". The Churchman. 113 (13): 510. April 15, 1916.
  13. ^ "Summer School of Church Music". The New Music Review and Church Music Review. 15 (173): 219. April 1916.
  14. ^ "Community "Sings" In Providence Begin Well". Musical America. 26 (10): 22. July 7, 1917.
  15. ^ Herringshaw's American Blue Book of Biography. Chicago: American Blue Book Publishers. 1926. p. 222.
  16. ^ Herringshaw, Thomas (1929). American Elite and Sociologist. Chicago, American blue book publishers. p. 182.
  17. ^ "US, WWI, Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918". Fold3.com.
  18. ^ "The Providence House Directory and Family Address Book, 1907". Providence, RI Digital Archives. City of Providence.
  19. ^ "Ocean to Ocean". Musical America. 15 (11): 42. January 20, 1912.
  20. ^ "Musical Musings". The Billboard. 36 (31): 35. August 2, 1924.
  21. ^ "Letters to the Editor". American Theatre Organ Journal. 32 (2): 6. March–April 1990.
  22. ^ "Poli's Capitol". The Hartford Courant. The Hartford Courant Company. October 9, 1921.
  23. ^ a b "Plays Dubois Work for Orchestra". The Diapason. 16 (7): 16. June 1, 1925.
  24. ^ Johnson, Frances (1931). Musical Memories of Hartford. Hartford, Connecticut: Witkower Press. p. 181.
  25. ^ Brown, Walter (October 27, 1930). "The Observation Post". The Hartford Courant. The Hartford Courant Company.
  26. ^ "Many Enjoy Chenkin In Song Recital". The Hartford Courant. The Hartford Courant Company. March 17, 1930.
  27. ^ "McCormack Pleased With Bushnell Hall". The Hartford Courant. The Hartford Courant Company. January 19, 1931.
  28. ^ Kyes, John (August 1936). "Hartford Symphony In Summer Series". Musical America. 56 (13): 25.
  29. ^ "Hartford". The Exhibitor: New England Edition. 30 (21): 32–33. September 29, 1943.
  30. ^ "Over the Radio". The Royal Gazette And Colonist. Bermuda National Library. March 10, 1931.
  31. ^ "Plan Improvement At Radio Station". The Hartford Courant. The Hartford Courant Company. May 29, 1922.
  32. ^ "Radio Phone Menus For Present Week". The Hartford Courant. The Hartford Courant Company. March 12, 1922.
  33. ^ "Nuggets, Gold Dust". Theatre Organ Journal. 31 (2): 48. March–April 1989.
  34. ^ Sies, Luther (2000). Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920-1960. Jefferson, North carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 154. ISBN 0786404523.
  35. ^ "Radio Impresarios Announce Their Winter Plans". The New York Times. September 18, 1927.
  36. ^ "Walter Dawley At The Capitol Theater Organ". The Hartford Courant. The Hartford Courant Company. December 11, 1927.
  37. ^ "Radio Personalities and Events" (PDF). Radio Digest. 23 (1): 6. February 1928.
  38. ^ "The Diapason 1930-04-01: Vol 21 Iss 5". The Diapason. 21 (5): 1. April 1, 1930.
  39. ^ "Station Review Shows Growth In Past Year". The Hartford Courant. The Hartford Courant Company. December 14, 1930.
  40. ^ "Morning" (PDF). Radio Guide. 5 (51): 18. October 10, 1936.
  41. ^ "Hartford Organist Will Give Demonstration On Program Friday Night". The Farmington Valley Herald. Connecticut Newspaper Co. December 12, 1935.
  42. ^ "W. Dawley Will Show New Pipeless Organ Thurs. Afternoon". The Connecticut Campus. 22 (24): 5. April 28, 1936.
  43. ^ Fippenger, Richard (2010). Wethersfield-Before Television Got Serious. Fippinger Author. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-615-41397-6.
  44. ^ "W. Dawley Will Show New Pipeless Organ Thurs. Afternoon". The Connecticut Campus. 22 (24): 5. April 28, 1936.
  45. ^ "Congregational Church". The Farmington Valley Herald. Connecticut Newspaper Co. April 7, 1938.
  46. ^ "Hartford: City Of Carols". Music Journal. 9 (8). December 1951.
  47. ^ Fippenger, Richard (2010). Wethersfield-Before Television Got Serious. Fippinger Author. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-615-41397-6.
  48. ^ "Secret Lake". The Farmington Valley Herald. Connecticut Newspaper Co. December 9, 1954.
  49. ^ "First In Series Of Free Concerts In Park Tonight". The Hartford Courant. The Hartford Courant Company. June 4, 1933.
  50. ^ "Signal Corps Shoots Short Of Blind G.I.'s" (PDF). The Billboard. 57 (23): 50. June 9, 1945.
  51. ^ "Visiting Club Friends" (PDF). Tape Recording. 7 (10): 11. September 1960.
  52. ^ "Machleit Home Leased To Episcopal Church". The Hartford Courant. The Hartford Courant Company. April 5, 1961.
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