A salute to 125 years of Omaha’s music makers

From symphony concerts to school proms, Omaha’s professional musicians have kept the beat for nearly 140 years.

Since 1897, they have been under the auspices of the Omaha Musicians Association. The union has been Local No. 70-558 since 1967 upon the merger of the city’s White and Black unions.

Clarence “Shorty” Vest was probably the best known union leader as its secretary-treasurer for 30 years before his death in 2000. But before him were Bobby Bowman, Charles Williamson and Henry G. Cox.

Much of the early years were chronicled for The World-Herald in 1931 by August Borglum, the newspaper’s music critic and brother of Mount Rushmore sculptor Gutzon Borglum.

August Borglum wrote that “The Knights of Labor” was the first organization of musicians, in 1886. Several of that group in 1889 formed the Omaha Musical Mutual Protective union with 35 members under the heading of Local 22 of the National League of Musicians.

Borglum: “Omaha began to take music in a big way back in the early 1890s, when music festivals lasting three days were presented in the Exposition building at 15th and Capitol Avenue, a large local chorus cooperating with visiting orchestras under the direction of the famous conductor Anton Seidl.”

On Nov. 19, 1897 — 125 years ago — Local 70 of the American Federation of Musicians was formed. The officers were all vocal teachers — Mrs. Clara Cotton as president, Miss Lillian Terry as vice president and Thomas J. Kelly secretary.

“A movement is just begun in this city to unite the singers and players who are not in the orchestral musicians union (Local 22) under a compact by which they agree not to sing or play for any public performance to which an admission fee is charged unless they are paid for their services,” wrote the Omaha Daily Bee.

Omaha’s Trans-Mississippi Exposition of 1898 was the first time, but not the last, that the local union protested against military bands engaged at the expense of its members. The three organizations listed included the United States Marine Band. For a month at the fair the famous Theodore Thomas orchestra, directed by “concertmeister” Arthur Mees, collaborated with the fair’s chorus of several hundred voices under the director of union secretary Kelly.

The two unions — the singers and the instrumentalists — soon consolidated. One of the proponents was Julius Meyer, who had been one of those “Knights of Labor” and was on the city’s music scene since the 1870s. His story is worth telling on another occasion, it’s so interesting. Meyer became Local 70’s treasurer, with F.D. Patton president, Ernest Nordin vice-president, H.H. Rohrs recording secretary and Emil B. Hofmann financial secretary.

Omaha hosted the 17th annual convention of the American Federation of Musicians in May 1912. Among the attendees were the members of the Exalted Order of Big Dogs. Musical dogs. Every dog weighing more than 200 pounds. All card-carrying members of the AFM. Wrote the World-Herald: “Several big dogs are expected to wander up to the kennel and scratch for admission, and the initiation ceremonies sure will cause some yelps.

In a more serious vein, the convention at Washington Hall (410 S. 18th St.) raised $1,000 for the families of the orchestra musicians who perished in the sinking of the Titanic just weeks earlier.

The first attempt at sustaining an Omaha Symphony Orchestra was in 1896, when musician director Hans Albert assembled 50 of the city’s best musicians. Not an oboist or bassoonist to be found in town for the first concert at Boyd’s theater. Over the next 25 years, several symphonic groups came and went, including the Omaha Philharmonic (1906), the Omaha Symphony Study orchestra (1910) and the Omaha Symphony Society (1917).

Today’s Omaha Symphony counts 1921 as its founding. If so, its only performance was a 5 p.m. “twilight concert” at the Brandeis Theater on March 29. With two oboes and two bassoons in the orchestra. Cox was the orchestra director, Ernest Nordin concertmaster.

But its true founding year should be 1924. It was when the Business and Professional Women’s Division of the city’s Chamber of Commerce backed, with a liability assumption of $1,000, a symphony supported by guarantors. Insurance man Herold K. Mansfield of the City Concert Club put together the 54-piece symphony of local musicians playing in downtown theaters. Engelbert Roentgen from the Minneapolis Symphony was guest conductor for the May 9 maiden program, with Nordin and Rudolph Seidl having prepared the orchestra.

Before that, Omaha’s Black musicians organized their Local 558 in 1920. In the Omaha Monitor weekly of March 6, 1925, it is mentioned that a 15-piece orchestra formed by “the crack players from the Adams, Desdunes, Melody Five and Turner orchestras” would furnish the music for the union’s grand ball at the Dreamland Hall. William Countee was 558’s secretary-treasurer for 35 years.

Charles Williamson (1891-1978) was Local 558’s best-known leader. He was its president and headed the Midwest Conference of Musicians. Born in Memphis, he played lead trumpet for W.C. Handy’s blues band. He came to Omaha in 1929 to play in the Ted Adams band and four year later started an orchestra of his own. Illness forced him to retire from music in 1942, but he remained active in his union. He was the 70-558 vice president when he died.

Bobby Bowman (1900-1974) headed Local 70 from 1943 — through its merger with Local 558 on Jan. 1, 1967 — until 1969, when he left to accept a position with the national American Federation of Musicians. The saxophone player was another Omaha transplant. The native of New Haven, Connecticut, was married to Omahan Hortense Geest and settled here in 1934 while recovering from a colitis attack. After playing sax for Rudy Vallee’s band, among others, he organized an orchestra that was the house band for the notorious Chez Paree club/gambling house in Carter Lake from 1937 to 1949.

When “Shorty” Vest (1926-2000) won the election to succeed Bowman, from Hoopeston, Illinois, gave up his 11-year drumming gig with the Paul Moorhead band. He literally took over Bowman’s chair. They were about the same height.

“They hired me so they wouldn’t have to change the office furniture,” Vest said in 1980. Among his many framed photos in the office was from Bennington native Paul Williams, also diminutive, who wrote, “I’ve looked low and low for you. Vest, who wore vests and was a noted cigar smoker, had business cards that read “Introducing Shorty Vest, that S.O.B. from the union,” which were mentioned in singer Kenny Rogers’ autobiography.

Since Vest’s retirement on New Year’s Day, 2000 (he died later that year from a heart attack), Dan Cerveny has held the post. The keyboard player, too, is coming up on a quarter-century of service to Local 70-558.

So a salute today to Omaha’s professional music makers. Congratulations on 125 years. Go toot your own horns. Especially the oboists and bassoonists. The city’s glad we now have you.

From symphony concerts to school proms, Omaha’s professional musicians have kept the beat for nearly 140 years.

Since 1897, they have been under the auspices of the Omaha Musicians Association. The union has been Local No. 70-558 since 1967 upon the merger of the city’s White and Black unions.

Clarence “Shorty” Vest was probably the best known union leader as its secretary-treasurer for 30 years before his death in 2000. But before him were Bobby Bowman, Charles Williamson and Henry G. Cox.

Much of the early years were chronicled for The World-Herald in 1931 by August Borglum, the newspaper’s music critic and brother of Mount Rushmore sculptor Gutzon Borglum.

August Borglum wrote that “The Knights of Labor” was the first organization of musicians, in 1886. Several of that group in 1889 formed the Omaha Musical Mutual Protective union with 35 members under the heading of Local 22 of the National League of Musicians.

Borglum: “Omaha began to take music in a big way back in the early 1890s, when music festivals lasting three days were presented in the Exposition building at 15th and Capitol Avenue, a large local chorus cooperating with visiting orchestras under the direction of the famous conductor Anton Seidl.”

On Nov. 19, 1897 — 125 years ago — Local 70 of the American Federation of Musicians was formed. The officers were all vocal teachers — Mrs. Clara Cotton as president, Miss Lillian Terry as vice president and Thomas J. Kelly secretary.

“A movement is just begun in this city to unite the singers and players who are not in the orchestral musicians union (Local 22) under a compact by which they agree not to sing or play for any public performance to which an admission fee is charged unless they are paid for their services,” wrote the Omaha Daily Bee.

Omaha’s Trans-Mississippi Exposition of 1898 was the first time, but not the last, that the local union protested against military bands engaged at the expense of its members. The three organizations listed included the United States Marine Band. For a month at the fair the famous Theodore Thomas orchestra, directed by “concertmeister” Arthur Mees, collaborated with the fair’s chorus of several hundred voices under the director of union secretary Kelly.

The two unions — the singers and the instrumentalists — soon consolidated. One of the proponents was Julius Meyer, who had been one of those “Knights of Labor” and was on the city’s music scene since the 1870s. His story is worth telling on another occasion, it’s so interesting. Meyer became Local 70’s treasurer, with F.D. Patton president, Ernest Nordin vice-president, H.H. Rohrs recording secretary and Emil B. Hofmann financial secretary.

Omaha hosted the 17th annual convention of the American Federation of Musicians in May 1912. Among the attendees were the members of the Exalted Order of Big Dogs. Musical dogs. Every dog weighing more than 200 pounds. All card-carrying members of the AFM. Wrote the World-Herald: “Several big dogs are expected to wander up to the kennel and scratch for admission, and the initiation ceremonies sure will cause some yelps.

In a more serious vein, the convention at Washington Hall (410 S. 18th St.) raised $1,000 for the families of the orchestra musicians who perished in the sinking of the Titanic just weeks earlier.

The first attempt at sustaining an Omaha Symphony Orchestra was in 1896, when musician director Hans Albert assembled 50 of the city’s best musicians. Not an oboist or bassoonist to be found in town for the first concert at Boyd’s theater. Over the next 25 years, several symphonic groups came and went, including the Omaha Philharmonic (1906), the Omaha Symphony Study orchestra (1910) and the Omaha Symphony Society (1917).

Today’s Omaha Symphony counts 1921 as its founding. If so, its only performance was a 5 p.m. “twilight concert” at the Brandeis Theater on March 29. With two oboes and two bassoons in the orchestra. Cox was the orchestra director, Ernest Nordin concertmaster.

But its true founding year should be 1924. It was when the Business and Professional Women’s Division of the city’s Chamber of Commerce backed, with a liability assumption of $1,000, a symphony supported by guarantors. Insurance man Herold K. Mansfield of the City Concert Club put together the 54-piece symphony of local musicians playing in downtown theaters. Engelbert Roentgen from the Minneapolis Symphony was guest conductor for the May 9 maiden program, with Nordin and Rudolph Seidl having prepared the orchestra.

Before that, Omaha’s Black musicians organized their Local 558 in 1920. In the Omaha Monitor weekly of March 6, 1925, it is mentioned that a 15-piece orchestra formed by “the crack players from the Adams, Desdunes, Melody Five and Turner orchestras” would furnish the music for the union’s grand ball at the Dreamland Hall. William Countee was 558’s secretary-treasurer for 35 years.

Charles Williamson (1891-1978) was Local 558’s best-known leader. He was its president and headed the Midwest Conference of Musicians. Born in Memphis, he played lead trumpet for W.C. Handy’s blues band. He came to Omaha in 1929 to play in the Ted Adams band and four year later started an orchestra of his own. Illness forced him to retire from music in 1942, but he remained active in his union. He was the 70-558 vice president when he died.

Bobby Bowman (1900-1974) headed Local 70 from 1943 — through its merger with Local 558 on Jan. 1, 1967 — until 1969, when he left to accept a position with the national American Federation of Musicians. The saxophone player was another Omaha transplant. The native of New Haven, Connecticut, was married to Omahan Hortense Geest and settled here in 1934 while recovering from a colitis attack. After playing sax for Rudy Vallee’s band, among others, he organized an orchestra that was the house band for the notorious Chez Paree club/gambling house in Carter Lake from 1937 to 1949.

When “Shorty” Vest (1926-2000) won the election to succeed Bowman, from Hoopeston, Illinois, gave up his 11-year drumming gig with the Paul Moorhead band. He literally took over Bowman’s chair. They were about the same height.

“They hired me so they wouldn’t have to change the office furniture,” Vest said in 1980. Among his many framed photos in the office was from Bennington native Paul Williams, also diminutive, who wrote, “I’ve looked low and low for you. Vest, who wore vests and was a noted cigar smoker, had business cards that read “Introducing Shorty Vest, that S.O.B. from the union,” which were mentioned in singer Kenny Rogers’ autobiography.

Since Vest’s retirement on New Year’s Day, 2000 (he died later that year from a heart attack), Dan Cerveny has held the post. The keyboard player, too, is coming up on a quarter-century of service to Local 70-558.

So a salute today to Omaha’s professional music makers. Congratulations on 125 years. Go toot your own horns. Especially the oboists and bassoonists. The city’s glad we now have you.

From symphony concerts to school proms, Omaha’s professional musicians have kept the beat for nearly 140 years.

Since 1897, they have been under the auspices of the Omaha Musicians Association. The union has been Local No. 70-558 since 1967 upon the merger of the city’s White and Black unions.

Clarence “Shorty” Vest was probably the best known union leader as its secretary-treasurer for 30 years before his death in 2000. But before him were Bobby Bowman, Charles Williamson and Henry G. Cox.

Much of the early years were chronicled for The World-Herald in 1931 by August Borglum, the newspaper’s music critic and brother of Mount Rushmore sculptor Gutzon Borglum.

August Borglum wrote that “The Knights of Labor” was the first organization of musicians, in 1886. Several of that group in 1889 formed the Omaha Musical Mutual Protective union with 35 members under the heading of Local 22 of the National League of Musicians.

Borglum: “Omaha began to take music in a big way back in the early 1890s, when music festivals lasting three days were presented in the Exposition building at 15th and Capitol Avenue, a large local chorus cooperating with visiting orchestras under the direction of the famous conductor Anton Seidl.”

On Nov. 19, 1897 — 125 years ago — Local 70 of the American Federation of Musicians was formed. The officers were all vocal teachers — Mrs. Clara Cotton as president, Miss Lillian Terry as vice president and Thomas J. Kelly secretary.

“A movement is just begun in this city to unite the singers and players who are not in the orchestral musicians union (Local 22) under a compact by which they agree not to sing or play for any public performance to which an admission fee is charged unless they are paid for their services,” wrote the Omaha Daily Bee.

Omaha’s Trans-Mississippi Exposition of 1898 was the first time, but not the last, that the local union protested against military bands engaged at the expense of its members. The three organizations listed included the United States Marine Band. For a month at the fair the famous Theodore Thomas orchestra, directed by “concertmeister” Arthur Mees, collaborated with the fair’s chorus of several hundred voices under the director of union secretary Kelly.

The two unions — the singers and the instrumentalists — soon consolidated. One of the proponents was Julius Meyer, who had been one of those “Knights of Labor” and was on the city’s music scene since the 1870s. His story is worth telling on another occasion, it’s so interesting. Meyer became Local 70’s treasurer, with F.D. Patton president, Ernest Nordin vice-president, H.H. Rohrs recording secretary and Emil B. Hofmann financial secretary.

Omaha hosted the 17th annual convention of the American Federation of Musicians in May 1912. Among the attendees were the members of the Exalted Order of Big Dogs. Musical dogs. Every dog weighing more than 200 pounds. All card-carrying members of the AFM. Wrote the World-Herald: “Several big dogs are expected to wander up to the kennel and scratch for admission, and the initiation ceremonies sure will cause some yelps.

In a more serious vein, the convention at Washington Hall (410 S. 18th St.) raised $1,000 for the families of the orchestra musicians who perished in the sinking of the Titanic just weeks earlier.

The first attempt at sustaining an Omaha Symphony Orchestra was in 1896, when musician director Hans Albert assembled 50 of the city’s best musicians. Not an oboist or bassoonist to be found in town for the first concert at Boyd’s theater. Over the next 25 years, several symphonic groups came and went, including the Omaha Philharmonic (1906), the Omaha Symphony Study orchestra (1910) and the Omaha Symphony Society (1917).

Today’s Omaha Symphony counts 1921 as its founding. If so, its only performance was a 5 p.m. “twilight concert” at the Brandeis Theater on March 29. With two oboes and two bassoons in the orchestra. Cox was the orchestra director, Ernest Nordin concertmaster.

But its true founding year should be 1924. It was when the Business and Professional Women’s Division of the city’s Chamber of Commerce backed, with a liability assumption of $1,000, a symphony supported by guarantors. Insurance man Herold K. Mansfield of the City Concert Club put together the 54-piece symphony of local musicians playing in downtown theaters. Engelbert Roentgen from the Minneapolis Symphony was guest conductor for the May 9 maiden program, with Nordin and Rudolph Seidl having prepared the orchestra.

Before that, Omaha’s Black musicians organized their Local 558 in 1920. In the Omaha Monitor weekly of March 6, 1925, it is mentioned that a 15-piece orchestra formed by “the crack players from the Adams, Desdunes, Melody Five and Turner orchestras” would furnish the music for the union’s grand ball at the Dreamland Hall. William Countee was 558’s secretary-treasurer for 35 years.

Charles Williamson (1891-1978) was Local 558’s best-known leader. He was its president and headed the Midwest Conference of Musicians. Born in Memphis, he played lead trumpet for W.C. Handy’s blues band. He came to Omaha in 1929 to play in the Ted Adams band and four year later started an orchestra of his own. Illness forced him to retire from music in 1942, but he remained active in his union. He was the 70-558 vice president when he died.

Bobby Bowman (1900-1974) headed Local 70 from 1943 — through its merger with Local 558 on Jan. 1, 1967 — until 1969, when he left to accept a position with the national American Federation of Musicians. The saxophone player was another Omaha transplant. The native of New Haven, Connecticut, was married to Omahan Hortense Geest and settled here in 1934 while recovering from a colitis attack. After playing sax for Rudy Vallee’s band, among others, he organized an orchestra that was the house band for the notorious Chez Paree club/gambling house in Carter Lake from 1937 to 1949.

When “Shorty” Vest (1926-2000) won the election to succeed Bowman, from Hoopeston, Illinois, gave up his 11-year drumming gig with the Paul Moorhead band. He literally took over Bowman’s chair. They were about the same height.

“They hired me so they wouldn’t have to change the office furniture,” Vest said in 1980. Among his many framed photos in the office was from Bennington native Paul Williams, also diminutive, who wrote, “I’ve looked low and low for you. Vest, who wore vests and was a noted cigar smoker, had business cards that read “Introducing Shorty Vest, that S.O.B. from the union,” which were mentioned in singer Kenny Rogers’ autobiography.

Since Vest’s retirement on New Year’s Day, 2000 (he died later that year from a heart attack), Dan Cerveny has held the post. The keyboard player, too, is coming up on a quarter-century of service to Local 70-558.

So a salute today to Omaha’s professional music makers. Congratulations on 125 years. Go toot your own horns. Especially the oboists and bassoonists. The city’s glad we now have you.

From symphony concerts to school proms, Omaha’s professional musicians have kept the beat for nearly 140 years.

Since 1897, they have been under the auspices of the Omaha Musicians Association. The union has been Local No. 70-558 since 1967 upon the merger of the city’s White and Black unions.

Clarence “Shorty” Vest was probably the best known union leader as its secretary-treasurer for 30 years before his death in 2000. But before him were Bobby Bowman, Charles Williamson and Henry G. Cox.

Much of the early years were chronicled for The World-Herald in 1931 by August Borglum, the newspaper’s music critic and brother of Mount Rushmore sculptor Gutzon Borglum.

August Borglum wrote that “The Knights of Labor” was the first organization of musicians, in 1886. Several of that group in 1889 formed the Omaha Musical Mutual Protective union with 35 members under the heading of Local 22 of the National League of Musicians.

Borglum: “Omaha began to take music in a big way back in the early 1890s, when music festivals lasting three days were presented in the Exposition building at 15th and Capitol Avenue, a large local chorus cooperating with visiting orchestras under the direction of the famous conductor Anton Seidl.”

On Nov. 19, 1897 — 125 years ago — Local 70 of the American Federation of Musicians was formed. The officers were all vocal teachers — Mrs. Clara Cotton as president, Miss Lillian Terry as vice president and Thomas J. Kelly secretary.

“A movement is just begun in this city to unite the singers and players who are not in the orchestral musicians union (Local 22) under a compact by which they agree not to sing or play for any public performance to which an admission fee is charged unless they are paid for their services,” wrote the Omaha Daily Bee.

Omaha’s Trans-Mississippi Exposition of 1898 was the first time, but not the last, that the local union protested against military bands engaged at the expense of its members. The three organizations listed included the United States Marine Band. For a month at the fair the famous Theodore Thomas orchestra, directed by “concertmeister” Arthur Mees, collaborated with the fair’s chorus of several hundred voices under the director of union secretary Kelly.

The two unions — the singers and the instrumentalists — soon consolidated. One of the proponents was Julius Meyer, who had been one of those “Knights of Labor” and was on the city’s music scene since the 1870s. His story is worth telling on another occasion, it’s so interesting. Meyer became Local 70’s treasurer, with F.D. Patton president, Ernest Nordin vice-president, H.H. Rohrs recording secretary and Emil B. Hofmann financial secretary.

Omaha hosted the 17th annual convention of the American Federation of Musicians in May 1912. Among the attendees were the members of the Exalted Order of Big Dogs. Musical dogs. Every dog weighing more than 200 pounds. All card-carrying members of the AFM. Wrote the World-Herald: “Several big dogs are expected to wander up to the kennel and scratch for admission, and the initiation ceremonies sure will cause some yelps.

In a more serious vein, the convention at Washington Hall (410 S. 18th St.) raised $1,000 for the families of the orchestra musicians who perished in the sinking of the Titanic just weeks earlier.

The first attempt at sustaining an Omaha Symphony Orchestra was in 1896, when musician director Hans Albert assembled 50 of the city’s best musicians. Not an oboist or bassoonist to be found in town for the first concert at Boyd’s theater. Over the next 25 years, several symphonic groups came and went, including the Omaha Philharmonic (1906), the Omaha Symphony Study orchestra (1910) and the Omaha Symphony Society (1917).

Today’s Omaha Symphony counts 1921 as its founding. If so, its only performance was a 5 p.m. “twilight concert” at the Brandeis Theater on March 29. With two oboes and two bassoons in the orchestra. Cox was the orchestra director, Ernest Nordin concertmaster.

But its true founding year should be 1924. It was when the Business and Professional Women’s Division of the city’s Chamber of Commerce backed, with a liability assumption of $1,000, a symphony supported by guarantors. Insurance man Herold K. Mansfield of the City Concert Club put together the 54-piece symphony of local musicians playing in downtown theaters. Engelbert Roentgen from the Minneapolis Symphony was guest conductor for the May 9 maiden program, with Nordin and Rudolph Seidl having prepared the orchestra.

Before that, Omaha’s Black musicians organized their Local 558 in 1920. In the Omaha Monitor weekly of March 6, 1925, it is mentioned that a 15-piece orchestra formed by “the crack players from the Adams, Desdunes, Melody Five and Turner orchestras” would furnish the music for the union’s grand ball at the Dreamland Hall. William Countee was 558’s secretary-treasurer for 35 years.

Charles Williamson (1891-1978) was Local 558’s best-known leader. He was its president and headed the Midwest Conference of Musicians. Born in Memphis, he played lead trumpet for W.C. Handy’s blues band. He came to Omaha in 1929 to play in the Ted Adams band and four year later started an orchestra of his own. Illness forced him to retire from music in 1942, but he remained active in his union. He was the 70-558 vice president when he died.

Bobby Bowman (1900-1974) headed Local 70 from 1943 — through its merger with Local 558 on Jan. 1, 1967 — until 1969, when he left to accept a position with the national American Federation of Musicians. The saxophone player was another Omaha transplant. The native of New Haven, Connecticut, was married to Omahan Hortense Geest and settled here in 1934 while recovering from a colitis attack. After playing sax for Rudy Vallee’s band, among others, he organized an orchestra that was the house band for the notorious Chez Paree club/gambling house in Carter Lake from 1937 to 1949.

When “Shorty” Vest (1926-2000) won the election to succeed Bowman, from Hoopeston, Illinois, gave up his 11-year drumming gig with the Paul Moorhead band. He literally took over Bowman’s chair. They were about the same height.

“They hired me so they wouldn’t have to change the office furniture,” Vest said in 1980. Among his many framed photos in the office was from Bennington native Paul Williams, also diminutive, who wrote, “I’ve looked low and low for you. Vest, who wore vests and was a noted cigar smoker, had business cards that read “Introducing Shorty Vest, that S.O.B. from the union,” which were mentioned in singer Kenny Rogers’ autobiography.

Since Vest’s retirement on New Year’s Day, 2000 (he died later that year from a heart attack), Dan Cerveny has held the post. The keyboard player, too, is coming up on a quarter-century of service to Local 70-558.

So a salute today to Omaha’s professional music makers. Congratulations on 125 years. Go toot your own horns. Especially the oboists and bassoonists. The city’s glad we now have you.