A Brief History of the Club

The Thursday Morning Music Club can trace its beginnings back to February 29, 1892, when a group met at the home of Mrs. C. de R. Meares to form a musical club. 

Others present at that historical meeting were: Mrs. A. M. Waddell; Mrs. J. H. Watters; Miss Gabrielle de Grundy de Rosset; Miss E. S. Waddell; Miss A. J. Hart; Mr. H.M. Emerson; and Col. A. M. Waddell.  By the eighth club meeting, April 19, 1892, the group had decided to call itself the Reinecke Club.  The group met off and on through 1907.  For a public concert held in the parlors of the Elk’s Club in 1904, the club name was changed to the Wilmington Piano Club.  The main purpose of the club was to perform music.

From the remnants of the Reinecke Club, the North Carolina Sorosis of Wilmington formed a music department and joined the National Federation of Music Clubs in 1909.  The group continued to be active and joined the newly formed North Carolina Federation of Music Clubs in 1917.

In 1922, informal meetings were held at the home of Miss Julia Post with Carrie Fenley, Agnes Chasten and Melba Pearsall attending.  The four friends planned to meet regularly to perform for each other and study classical music.  From this core group the Thursday Morning Club was born.  May 13 – 15, 1924 the Thursday Morning Club and the Sorosis Music Department were cohosts for the Eighth Convention of the North Carolina Federation of Music Clubs held here in Wilmington.  The Thursday Morning Music Club also hosted North Carolina Federation of Music Clubs Conventions in 1934, 1941, 1952, and 1970.  The official date of organization and federation for the Thursday Morning Music Club is given as October 1924 with 25 charter members.  Mrs. J. G. Murphy was elected as the first president of the club.  It joined the North Carolina Federation of Music Clubs under its own name in 1925.

Down through the years, the Thursday Morning Club has promoted the formation of various club choruses and chamber music groups, e.g. the Madrigals; the Wilmington Male Chorus; the Edwards Ensemble; and the Norden String Quartet to name only a few.  It has also fostered the organization of Junior and Juvenile Music clubs; federation of new clubs in the eastern district of the state; enrollment of associate members, sponsored concerts by well-known artists; expanded the music holdings of the public library and numerous other musical endeavors.  Not only has the Thursday Morning Music Club promoted and sponsored groups but also individuals showing talent, some of the recipients of scholarships have been: Helen Savage; Bernard Williamson; Emerson Head; Joseph Rose; Joyce West; and others.  The Thursday Morning Music Club has also arranged performances by such greats as Arthur Rubinstein, Arthur Fiedler’s Pops Orchestra and Caterina Jarboro.