THSO’s Founding Members (1926–1927)
David Chapman | February 27, 2026 | history@thso.org
First photograph of the Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra, published in the Terre Haute Tribune on December 5, 1926, the day after its first concert in the Indiana Theatre
The following personnel list has been assembled from contemporaneous newspaper articles throughout the orchestra’s first season, 1926-1927. They are listed in the order they appeared. Women who were originally identified by their husband’s name are listed here by their first names wherever we could determine them.
Founding Musicians of the
Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra
Conductor/Director: William H. Bryant
Will Bryant, portrait published in Musical America, November 10, 1928
Concertmaster:
- Arthur Hill (Sr.), elected at first rehearsal on March 24, 1926
- Marguerite (Mrs. Victor C.) Miller, replaced Hill in October and performed for the first concert on December 4, 1926
Marguerite (née Kickler) Miller, portrait published in Terre Haute Saturday Spectator, March 14, 1914
Assistant Concertmaster: Louis Waterloo
First Violins:
- Wilfred Fidlar
- Warren Lucas
- Stanley Archibald
- Helen Potts
- Louise Pemberton
- Rowland Hackett
- Carl Truitt
- Raymond Howard
- Kenneth Jenkins
- Ruby Van Kirk
- Margaret Vaughn
- Beulah Gifford
- Elizabeth L. Miller ⁕
- Kelly James ⁕
- Kenneth Johns ⁕
- Eddie McFate ⁕
Second Violins:
- Louis Waterloo
- Ralph Miller
- Perry Stryker
- Rudolph Jeffers
- Geraldine Drury
- Gladys Horrall
- Hazel (Mrs. Bevie) Beasley
- Leona Allen
- Margaret Bull
- Ernest Zeller
- Harvey Kesler ⁕
- Jessica Taylor ⁕
- Erama Amerger ⁕
- Bernard Rosenak ⁕
Violas:
- Gertrude Lotze
- Edna Grimm
- “Mrs. Otis” ⁕
Cellos:
- Daisy (Mrs. W. E.) Robinson
- Blanche (Mrs. D. R.) Ulmer
- Vivian Spurgeon
- Leila McCarter
- Clark Engleman
- Elmer Zeller
- Edith Ford
- Leona Fariss
- Charles Woerner ⁕
Basses:
- Ora C. Davis
- Roscoe Kearschner
- Madolin C. Hackett
- Florence Ellis ⁕
- Donald Myers ⁕
Flute:
- Victor C. Miller
- William McCaslin ⁕
Clarinets:
- Henry C. Weber
- Everett Bishop
- Eldon Ready
- George McKean ⁕
Oboe:
- Benjamin Southcott
- Willard Horton
- Roy Parker ⁕
Bassoon: Sam Jordan ⁕
Trumpets:
- David C. “Jack” Adams
- Clarence Shook
- WIlliam Davis
- William Nilson ⁕
- Robert Wright ⁕
French Horns:
- William Sidenbender
- Herman Diekoff
- Eugene K. Asbury
- Herbert Hicklin ⁕
Trombones:
- James W. Morris
- William H. Everson
- Harvey Kesler ⁕
Tuba: Leon Corenflos
Drums and Timpani:
- William Joyce
- Jack O’Grady
Piano: Amelia A. Meyer
⁕ Not present at first concert, but listed as member later in the first season.
Symphony Society Officers
President: James W. Morris
Vice President: Daisy (Mrs. W. E.) Robinson
Secretary-Treasurer: Arthur Hill (Sr.)
Librarian: Eugene K. Asbury
Board of Trustees:
- Warren Lucas
- Beulah Gifford
- William H. Bryant
- Eugene K. Asbury
- Victor C. Miller
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Sources:
“Civic Symphony Orchestra Will Play Saturday,” Terre Haute Star, December 3, 1926, page 8.
Anna Bowles Wiley, “What Woman Are Doing,” Terre Haute Tribune, December 5, 1926, page 6.
“Music Box,” Terre Haute Saturday Spectator, January 15, 1927, page 28.
“Local Symphony Orchestra Presents Pleasing Program,” Terre Haute Star, February 24, 1927, page 14.