By Paul Goldfinger (Editor @Blogfinger and owner of a Sousa fan fan)
Prior to the orchestral concert on July 29, 2010 in the GA, Mr. John Shaw, the Hope-Jones organ curator, stood before the audience to offer a prayer and to introduce the program. He also mentioned something that was potentially intriguing to those who are interested in music and Ocean Grove history. He said, and I paraphrase, “Exactly one hundred years ago, John Phillip Sousa and Enrico Caruso appeared together on this stage.” But Mr. Shaw did not elaborate.
John Phillip Sousa
Enrico Caruso
So, here is the Blogfinger Historical Fiction Contest springing to life. Send us a brief (no more that 4 sentences) account of what those two musical giants were doing on the stage of the GA in 1910. The top three winners will receive an original Ocean Grove car magnet. (For those of you who want a magnet but do not want to participate, you can buy them at News ‘n Such on Main Avenue)
Here is the first entry by P Goldfinger who is not eligible for a prize:
1910: Enrico Caruso, the great tenor, hit a high note last week at the Met and hurt his groin. He came to the Grove for some R and R, staying at the Abbott House. His old buddy J.P. Sousa was playing a concert in the Great Auditorium and he called Caruso up to the stage to take a bow and to sit in the piccolo section for the playing of “The Stars and Stripes Forever.” Caruso, who could not play the piccolo, was content to hum along.
J.P. Sousa: “The Thunderer.”