Inland Children’s Chorus
On a lark I decided to search my name in Google this morning and the first two hits were for the Inland Children’s Chorus that my grandfather (after whom I am named) directed from 1937 until he passed away in 1955. The chorus was founded & sponsored by the Inland Manufacturing division of General Motors. There’s a full history of the Chorus here at the Dayton Philharmonic web site.
Even more interesting is the second search result, a blog entry by Lee Hartsfeld on his Music You (Possibly) Won’t Hear Anyplace Else site. This post is about the vinyl recording of “The Story of Bethlehem” as recorded in 1954. Lee rips old vinyl and shellac recordings to digital and posts them on his site and for that I am very thankful since my dad was in the Chorus and I have never heard anything by them before. This concert was the last recording made under the direction of my grandfather about two months before his passing.
Lee provided a link to a zip file containing six MP3 files of this concert. I’m getting just a bit misty eyed listening to the first one right now (the quality is amazing for a 50 year old record). Thanks Lee, I’m really glad I found that post. It’s probably the best thing Google has even found for me.
Inland Children's Chorus Record Label (courtsey of Lee Hartsfeld)
I was a member of the Inland Children’s Chorus during your grandfather’s era. He was a remarkable man. I tried to email earlier, but the message was returned. If you haven’t visited already, you might like to see the photos, programs, music, and articles at http://inlandchorus.com/
Thank you so much, my dad will be very happy to see that site (is it yours?) I looked at the photo on the main page and didn’t recognize anyone but I still need to read through the rest of the site.
I was a member of the Inland Children’s Chorus from 1951-1959. I am pictured in the first row, on the right side of the photo pictured on the website.
By chance, I went online today and found this website and was so pleased to know that we had been remembered by way of this site.
I was a proud member of this chorus, which helped shape the individual that I grew up to be. I will always remember Richard Westbrock as a most gentle human being and one that helped shape a magnificent legacy in his honor.
Thanks for the memories!
To pappyrob: Your comment is terrific. Could you add it to the “community page” comments at the site? It would mean a lot to so many others who feel the same and help build the history of the Chorus. By the way, I’m in your row, but on the left side!