Women's Musical Club of Regina

The Women's Musical Club of Regina (now Regina Musical Club) has had a lasting, significant effect upon Regina's cultural life. Organized in 1907 as the Women's Morning Musical Club, it was renamed the Women's Musical Club in 1909. Membership required referral by two Club members. For many years the members were mainly middle-class housewives or, less often, professional music teachers. Talented and determined, these women shared a serious interest in music; they sought to provide opportunities for performance and to promote the enjoyment and appreciation of music. From the outset, the Club was in contact with women's musical clubs from other centres across the prairies, exchanging both ideas and visits.

The Club's emphasis has been upon performance. Its fortnightly meetings (actually hour-long recitals) were for members only. There were, however, public performances in fall and spring as well as at Christmas, and occasional concerts with guest artists. The Club also gave countless young musicians the valuable experience of performing before a live audience, and offered medals and scholarships to skilled music students. Except for a brief hiatus during World War I, the Club has endured. Its membership peaked after World War II, briefly reaching 1,000 in 1950. When interest plummeted in the 1950s, men began to be admitted as associate members. Today the Regina Musical Club offers to the public an annual series that features young performers.

Constance A. Maguire

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Further Reading

Maguire, C.A. 2000. “‘Concerts and Curtains': Darke Hall and The Women's Musical Club of Regina,” Façade 12: 16; Women's Musical Club of Regina. Papers. R-347. Saskatchewan Archives Board. Regina.