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Theodore Charles Stone Papers

Finding Aid: Theodore Charles Stone Papers
Repository: Chicago Public Library, Carter G. Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature

Theodore Charles Stone PapersAn accomplished baritone and music journalist, Theodore Charles Stone also served for many years as president of the Chicago Music Association (CMA) and National Association of Negro Musicians (NANM). Born in Gainesville, TX in 1912, Stone's early music education was supervised by a local German organist. By the time he moved to Chicago in the early 1930s, Stone was well regarded in music circles, hailed as "one of the artistic successes of the season" by Maud Roberts George in 1931. Internationally known by the 1940s, Stone went on to serve in many significant capacities in Chicago music: as president of CMA (1954-96), as music journalist for the Chicago Crusader and Defender, and as a great supporter of young performers and music education.

The Theodore Charles Stone Papers at the Chicago Public Library, Carter G. Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature consist of 59 containers of material documenting the many facets of Stone's career and service. The papers include records of his professional career as journalist and musician, organizational records of both NANM and CMA, and hundreds of music programs dating from the 1940s.

Selected Artifacts

In 1943, the National Negro Opera Company performed La Traviata in Chicago, starring La Julia Rhea and William Franklin, and featuring a young Stone (front). The National Negro Opera Company debuted with Verdi's Aida at the 1941 annual meeting of NANM. Photo courtesy of Center of Black Music Research, Columbia College. In 1939, Stone traveled to Finland to study at the Sibelius Academy, but his musical studies were cut short with the onset of World War II. Stone kept this piece of Scandinavian sheet music, dated 1939. A program for Stone's performance on November 8, 1944 at Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis. This program, sponsored by Stone's own promotion company Musical Arts Bureau, included music by Schubert, Brahms, and Strauss, as well as selections of Negro Spirituals. On May 3, 1963, the Chicago Music Association, the R. Nathaniel Dett Music Club, the Council of Choirs, and the Chicago Branches of National Association of Negro Musicians (NANM) presented "This is Negro Music." The program featured Thomas A. Dorsey, Edna Williams, the Arthur Logan Singers, and other soloists and choral groups. Walter Dyett's cue sheet from the 'This is Negro Music' program.


Images and credits.