1945 ~ Present : Sixty Years of Great Chamber Music
The Formative Years: 1945 ~ 1955
Elmer Scott’s Story: The Civic Federation of Dallas, an adult education agency founded in 1914 ~ 1917 by Elmer Scott, offered lectures, music, and art exhibits for many years in a 1908 Georgian house at 2419 Maple (present site of the Crescent); so, in honor of its founder, the auditorium was named Scott Hall in 1938. After attending a concert at Scott Hall, Joseph Kirshbaum, professor of violin at North Texas State College (now University of North Texas), praised the hall as a great place for chamber music, a comment that inspired Mr. Scott to try a series of concerts of internationally known ensembles. The first concert was performed on November 20, 1945 with the Lener Quartet as part of a five concert pilot season, a pattern that has been maintained ever since.
Mr. Scott retired prior to the 1952 ~ 1953 season but continued as consultant for the series, which was managed through the Civic Federation of Dallas and later the Dallas Council on World Affairs, until Mr. Scott’s death in April 1954.
The Early Years: 1955 ~ Present
Incorporation of the Dallas Chamber Music Society: A year before Elmer Scott’s death, a music committee was set up with J. Howard Payne as chairman. In the meantime, Dorothea Kelley with her husband Bartram and three small children had arrived in Dallas in 1952 from Buffalo, New York, where Dorothea had been manager of the Buffalo Chamber Music Society. So, Mr. Payne invited Dorothea to be a part of the committee. During Mr. Scott’s last illness, Dorothea assumed his duties in the music field, all of which expanded into full management of the concert series. After Mr. Scott’s death, Dorothea offered to take over the chamber music series in addition to her position as violist with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.
In 1955, Dorothea along with 7 other music lovers decided to establish an independent organization, and thus The Dallas Chamber Music Society, Inc. came into being, chartered in April 1955 to perpetuate the Elmer Scott Concert Series. The initial Board of Directors, Executive Committee Officers included J. Howard Payne, president; Masha Porte, Isadore Segal and Lionel Brown, Vice Presidents; William G. Lipscomb, Secretary Treasurer, and Dorothea Kelley, executive vice president and manager. The Dallas Chamber Music Society emblem, drawn by artist Owen Travis specifically for the Society, first appeared on programs in the 15th Season (1959 ~ 1960).
Dallas Chamber Music Society concerts were held in Scott Hall until the building was demolished in 1960, after which they were moved to Highland Park Town Hall, The Hockaday School, and several venues on the campus of Southern Methodist University, before settling in the present location at Caruth Auditorium in 1965.
