Bill Kling, KSJR-FM general manager; and Father Colman Barry, Order of Saint Benedict and cofounder of Minnesota Public Radio, speak as part of Weyerhaeuser studios dedication ceremony at KSJR-FM.
Studios are dedicated to the memory of Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser, a patron of the arts, professional singer, sponsor of numerous young performers during the past half century, and one who contributed to the strong influence of musical culture in Central Minnesota. The KSJR studios will be known as the Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser Studios, the professional name under which Mrs. Weyerhaeuser-Sanborn sang.
Kling spoke for the station saying he was "honored and proud to dedicate the studio to the memory of Mrs. WeyerhaeuserÂ-Sanborn and hopeful that the station might continue to present programming consistent with her ideals."
Mrs. WeyerhaeuserÂ-Sanborn was born October 2, 1876 in Rochester, Minnesota and spent much of her married life in Little Falls, Minn. She sang professionally in Chicago, New York, throughout Minnesota, and brought countless performers to Little Falls under the sponsorship of the Musical Arts Club. Her love for the Minneapolis Symphony was renowned. She often attended their Friday orchestra sessions, joining the soloist and conductor Dimitri Mitropoulos for lunch. At her Lake Alexander estate near Little Falls she held several recitals and performances. She became a strong advocate of any electronic vehicle which could convey classical music to a wide audience. She championed the gramophone and later on, when FM began transmitting with superior quality live orchestra concerts, she became devoted to its continuation.
Transcripts
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SPEAKER 1: Where is the Time Magazine photographer? I'd like to officially welcome all of you here, those that I haven't had a chance to meet. And thank you for being with us on this very happy occasion. We're especially happy to have with us Mr. Bruce Sanborn, the husband of Maud Moon Weyerhauser Sanborn, Sarah Maud and Bob Sivertson, Mrs. Weyerhauser Sanborn's daughter and son-in-law, probably our most avid listeners to the station, her granddaughter and grandson, Lucy and Walter McCarthy, and her grandson, Walter Rosenbury.
Do you think you're all here? I'd introduce you individually. This is a day that the engineering staff and I have been waiting for for almost four years. We've spent four years in planning this radio complex and nearly two years in constructing it. And it's now officially complete and is serving virtually all of Minnesota with cultural and informational radio programming.
For the formal dedication, I'd like to present the man who originally conceived the idea of these stations, and whose continuing efforts have been the force behind their development, the president of St. John's University and also of our own board of directors, Father Colman Barry.
COLMAN BARRY: Like Chris Kricheff. Thank you, Bill. It was in January of 1967 that KSJR began fine arts and public affairs broadcasting. The two and one-half years since that time have seen the completion of a modern and efficient studio complex. Only this past month, the final finishing touches were added to make the complex ready for dedication.
It is a source of pride to all of us associated with this station to be able to participate this evening, along with many of our friends and supporters, in the dedication ceremonies. Minnesota has long enjoyed a strong tradition of music and culture, as you well know. One of those who contributed most substantially to that tradition was Maud Moon Weyerhauser Sanborn.
Maud Moon was born on the 2nd of October, 1876, in Rochester, Minnesota. After her marriage to Charles Augustine Weyerhauser, she moved to Little Falls, where she fostered her love for music. Maud Moon Weyerhauser brought countless musical performances to that area under the auspices of the musical arts club.
In those early years, in Little Falls, and at the Weyerhauser home on Lake Alexander, she studied and developed as a professional singer and organized numerous recitals and performances. She sang in cities throughout Minnesota and other states under the name Maud Moon Weyerhauser.
During this time, she maintained her interest in encouraging young performers and helped many of them to launch their musical careers. Following the death of Charles Weyerhauser, Maud Moon Weyerhauser left Minnesota in the United States and developed an active interest in European musical festivals, especially at Salzburg.
There, her home became a gathering place for such talented performers as Kirsten Flagstad and Ezio Pinza. At the start of World War II, she returned to this country and established residence at Lenox, Massachusetts, near the Tanglewood, home of the Boston Symphony orchestra. A short time later, she married Mr. Bruce Sanborn, who was with us in the studios this evening.
Maud Moon Weyerhauser Sanborn became a member of the board of the then Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra. She served many years on the board and was awarded one of the very few lifetime honorary memberships of that board. She regularly attended the Friday afternoon rehearsal sessions of the orchestra, and often joined the conductor, Dimitri Mitropoulos, and the guest soloists for luncheon and conversation about the musical scene in Minnesota.
During the earlier years in Little Falls and at Lake Alexander, Maud had become an avid proponent of the gramophone, a new source of music that enriched life in those days. When radio developed and became popular, she declared silence on Saturday and Sunday afternoons so that all could listen to the live concert broadcasts of the Metropolitan Opera and the New York Philharmonic.
Finally, as FM became a reality, she was among the earlier devotees who recognized the superior qualities of this system and its ability to transmit classical music in rich, full fidelity. FM Radio broadcasts were heard throughout her home. Many of the ideals of KSJR in its programming parallel closely those of Maud Moon Weyerhauser Sanborn.
This station's broadcasts of live orchestra concerts from Boston, Cleveland, and Philadelphia, and its Saturday broadcasts of the Metropolitan Opera, along with its productions that feature young, promising musical talent, are listened to regularly in more than 100 cities and towns throughout Minnesota. The communities include Little Falls and the surrounding area.
In that area, in the old Weyerhauser home on Lake Alexander, which is now owned by Maud's daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Sivertson, both of whom honor us with their very special presence this evening at the dedication of KSJR studios. It is altogether fitting that as we and KSJR attempt to carry on the strong musical tradition for Minnesota, pioneered by Maud Moon warehouse, we do hear now publicly dedicate this KSJR FM radio studio complex as a continuing testimony to her magnificent contribution to the musics and the fine arts.
[OVERLAPPING CHATTER]
[APPLAUSE]
Now, for those of you who have not seen the studios, we'd like you to come through in this direction, and we'll give you the $0.25 tour.
[LAUGHTER]
[OVERLAPPING CHATTER]