| By
Wesley Schaum
I often
talk with teachers who share warm memories of my father, John W.
Schaum. They recall the special pleasure of meeting him at one of
his workshops or their pride in joining him in a duet. They tell
how his artistry, personality and musical philosophy touched them
and ultimately, their students. Schaum Publications is the continuation
of his work. Knowing the story of John Schaum is to know how our
company was conceived and built, where we are now, and what we envision
for the future to bring music to others.
My
father was a saver. As a result, his office had an accumulation
of things scattered over the top of every horizontal surface, including
his antique Steinway grand piano. When visitors came, he liked to
show a reproduction of an old engraving of Beethoven in his study,
sitting among numerous piles of papers and manuscripts in conspicuous
disarray.
Contrary
to the appearance of his office, Dad was really very well organized.
There was always a purpose for the things he saved. He saved clippings
from magazines and newspapers. Among many concert reviews and articles
about performers and composers were clippings reflecting his political
and social interests. There were copies of occasional letters to
the editor he had written when he had strong feelings. Also included
were articles on dozens of topics from animals and zoos to railroads
and astronauts that he felt might serve to stimulate ideas in his
teaching, writing and workshops.
He
saved copies of correspondence with publishers, pianists, teachers,
insurance companies, and manufacturers whose products he found irksome
or defective. There were copies of recital and concert programs
beginning in the mid 1920's, along with souvenir programs from countless
ballets, circuses, musicals, magic shows, operas, ice skating extravaganzas
and wrestling matches. He also saved postcards, photographs, sight-seeing
brochures and historical pamphlets from his travels throughout all
fifty states.
Needless
to say, he had a vast collection of music, mostly for piano (more
about this later). Fortunately, he was able to hire a team of librarians
who helped to organize and catalog the music along with all the
other things. All of this brings to mind an appreciation of the
wide array of interests that formed the background for his creative
endeavors.
It
all started when he decided to make a career of piano teaching in
the late 1920's. Dad began working as a private teacher and after
several years organized the Schaum Piano School in 1933. The teaching
faculty gradually expanded to a point where the school had eleven
teaching studios up on the third floor of an office building on
the east side of Milwaukee, just a few blocks from Lake Michigan.
The collective teaching experiences in his school became the fountainhead
for his writings.
My
father's struggle to earn a living as a piano teacher durin
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