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MAY 2025

Feature of Note

PGH&S Virtual Tour with
Curt Ebersole and Lt. Col. Daniel Smith-Toven 

Photo on right by Staff Sgt. Francisco Aisporna, West Point Band vocalist.

Continuing our series of member programs highlighting the historic home Percy and Ella Grainger shared in White Plains, New York, Curt Ebersole, will host the second and final virtual tour of the Sanctuary, Shelter, Stage series on May 22 at 4 pm EST. In this next virtual tour, Curt welcomes special guest Lt. Col. Daniel Smith-Toven who serves as the Commander of the West Point Band.

Curt and Lt. Col. Smith-Toven will lead us through the second floor, featuring the bedrooms of Ella, Percy, and Rose Grainger, and the basement, which includes fireproof rooms that contained manuscripts and more. Follow this link to learn more in the full event listing on our website.

About Our Guest: Lt. Col. Daniel Smith-Toven

Lt. Col. Daniel Smith-Toven currently serves as the Commander of the West Point Band. Prior to this assignment, Lt. Col. Smith-Toven served as the Deputy Commander and Associate Bandmaster of The U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own,” and Director of The U.S. Army Chorus. Before that, he was the Deputy Commandant at the U.S. Army School of Music in Virginia Beach, Virginia. 

Before joining the Army, he held a variety of professional music positions throughout the northeastern United States including founder, music director, and conductor of the Plum Creek Chamber Orchestra, and assistant conductor of The Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh, where he worked with Grammy Award-winning mentor, the late Robert Page. He has also prepared choruses for the Boston Pops Holiday Pops under the direction of Keith Lockhart, and for performances with the Pittsburgh Symphony Pops Orchestra under the direction of Marvin Hamlisch. In addition to teaching high school in the Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C., areas, Lt. Col. Smith-Toven spent the fall of 2001 as Director of Choruses for Colgate University. He continues to be in demand as a clinician and guest conductor and has conducted numerous County, District, Region, and All-State band and chorus festivals in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina.

Membership Happenings

Strategic Planning Update

We are pleased to have received a terrific response to the strategic planning survey shared in March. Thank you to all who completed the survey and submitted responses. We are grateful for your assistance in helping advance us to the next phase of planning with the Documentary Heritage and Preservation Services for New York (a statewide initiative supporting library and archival repositories) and the New York Council of Nonprofits (NYCON).

Survey submissions by respondents in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand provided critical feedback on various aspects of our organization, including our mission and vision, activities and communications, the historic house (in White Plains, NY) and collections, and funding and support.

Follow this link to learn more about the Society's strategic planning process and goals.

At the Home & Studio

Percy's Sketchbook

Percy’s childhood sketchbook is a highlight among the many treasures in the collection at the Percy Grainger Home and Studio (PGH&S). With multiple pages of his pencil drawings and watercolor images, it is evidence of Percy’s remarkable drawing ability from a young age. Additionally, the sketchbook is reflective of interests that continued through Grainger’s life. Images include trains, boats, mythologic scenes, and even musical notations.

Our latest blog post shares several images from Percy's sketchbook that we can confidently date to about 1887-88, when Percy was 5 and 6 years old. Follow this link to read the full post and discover more examples of Percy's artwork from the collection at the PGH&S.

Save the Date

October 1, 2025: Grainger Symposium Call for Proposals

The Brigham Young University School of Music, in collaboration with the Percy Grainger Society, is pleased to announce a call for proposals for "Approaches to Performing Grainger" a collaborative symposium on March 27–28, 2026, in Provo, Utah (USA) exploring innovative performance approaches to Percy Grainger’s music.

Scholars, performers, and educators are invited to submit proposals for papers, presentations and workshops for this exciting two-day event. Delivered in hybrid mode, both in-person and online, the symposium aims to explore the myriad ways Grainger's music can be interpreted, performed, and appreciated in contemporary contexts, and will feature a variety of presentation modes, live performances, and opportunities for networking among participants.

Proposals are due by October 1, 2025. For submission requirements and instructions, visit the symposium website here or contact symposium@percygrainger.org. Join us to celebrate and re-examine Grainger’s enduring influence on contemporary music performance and education.

Event Key

The Percy Grainger Society is pleased to offer both live and virtual events. You can easily determine if the events listed in this newsletter are live or virtual by the color of the registration button:

  green for live events  

  blue for virtual events  

The Percy Grainger Society

7 Cromwell Place | White Plains, New York 10601

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Our mission is to promote the work and legacy of Percy Grainger with a membership community that preserves his historic house, encourages appreciation performance of his music, and promotes a deeper understanding of the cultural, social, and economic context of his life and work.

info@percygrainger.org

(914) 281-1610

www.percygrainger.org

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