The Music and Drama Club is a Cleveland area 501(c)(3) that promotes interest in and appreciation of the arts of music and drama and provides scholarships and aid in these fields to Cleveland area organizations and schools.
In 1904, three ladies-who-lunch discussed the possibility of forming a “study club.” Within a few months, Mrs. Minette Stahl (a soprano) and Mrs. Margaret Taylor Spitz (a Reader, as dramatists were called in those days) met with five like-minded friends to form The Music and Drama Study Club. The Club’s original seven began meeting in members’ homes on a bi-weekly basis presenting programs focusing on the lives of the early composers. By 1911, the membership had grown to 40, divided equally between active members, whose duty it was to entertain the Club, and associate members, who served as hostesses at the formal afternoon teas that followed each performance.
In 1917, when the United States declared war on Germany, several members suggested the Club disband. Rather than dissolve the Club, Stahl and Spitz reorganized its meetings into benefits for the Red Cross. During The Great Depression, Club President, Mrs. W.R. Jeavons, opened her home for meetings so the Club could stay afloat. Again, when our country entered WWII, Club President, Mrs. Dieter, turned the Club’s efforts to fundraising for the Red Cross.
Although the Club had always been involved in charitable giving, ranging in the earliest days from donations to seeing- eye dogs for blind soldiers to contributing to the Queen’s Hall in London, England, the first official Music and Drama Scholarship wasn’t awarded until 1936. That original $50 donation to The Cleveland Music School Settlement grew and evolved into the present scholarship program. Beginning in 1941, members amassed the majority of scholarship monies by collecting and redeeming Ohio Sales Tax Stamps. In 1960, the Club recognized a need to create a capital fund that would eventually produce interest income sufficient to support the scholarship program. The annual Holiday Scholarship luncheon is now the highlight of every Music and Drama season and one of the major sources of scholarship monies. Profits from this event as well as individual donations and an investment account now result in 12 organizations receiving annual scholarships. The endowment fund also ensures their ability to offer scholarships for years to come.
Today, its annual events include four teas, two luncheons, and the Annual Scholarship Luncheon. Scholarships remain an integral part of the Club’s mission and this year will support the following 12 organizations, 6 music and 6 drama, with $1,000 scholarships each: Beck Center for the Arts, Case Western Reserve, Cleveland Play House MFA in Acting Program, Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM), Cleveland Orch. Youth Orch., Cleveland School for the Arts, Dobama Theatre, Ensemble Theater, Great Lakes Theater, Karamu House, Music Settlement, Piano Cleveland, and The Musical Theater Project
In 2024, celebrating its 120th year with a membership of approximately 70, The Music and Drama Club of Cleveland’s legacy continues of promoting artistic appreciation and nurturing young talent looks forward to the next 120 years of enriching Cleveland’s cultural landscape. In 2024, the Club was inducted into the 100 Year Club of the Western Reserve honoring organizations in continuous existence for at least 100 years.
Questions & Membership Information: musicanddramacleveland@gmail.com
