The Fellowship - Masterwork Connection

Two organizations started in the last three months of 1955. One was the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship in October 1955.

The other was the Masterwork Chorus, which selected its first musical director, David Randolph who would lead until 1993, to conduct a Mozart festival.

Founders of both organizations included Fellowship members. When Randolph’s hiring was announced in the November 24 issue of “The Madison Eagle” two of the members of the chorus executive committee which selected him were Jean Merritt (May 24,1925-June 1, 2006) and Joan Wetton (Aug. 11, 1921-May 7, 1998), who both joined the Fellowship on January 6, 1956.

Shirley May, who led Masterwork for decades, but did not join the Fellowship was mentioned in the Fellowship’s newsletter of February 1956, in what appears to be a list of activities by people associated with the congregation. She would maintain an association with the Fellowship through the years.

In fact, when the first newsletter was issued by Marshall Deutsch in December 1955, he noted that five Fellowship members—technically not members as no one had signed the membership book when this was written—were also Masterwork members, presumably including Merritt and Wetton.

From newspaper article, add more names, more than five: Stuart Lloyd, Ruth Lloyd, Marshall Deutsch, Edward Zajac, and Ted Newlin—all mentioned in January 1956 as participating in a Mozart concert. With a smaller number of singers chorus in the early months than currently, the Fellowship represented a significant part of the Masterwork membership.

The December newsletter also pointed there was one New Jersey Symphony member and two members of the Colonial Little Symphony. One of the members of the Colonial Little Symphony was Gerald Quinlan, a professional flautist (and schoolteacher) who was likely also the New Jersey Symphony member.

In addition, the newsletter noted membership included “the organist and choirmaster of Episcopal church.”

That was Fellowship first president, Marsh Steiding, who also designed the lectern still in use.

Outside of the hymns, Steiding was the most frequent accompanist in the Fellowship’s first two years and was one of a good supply of pianists who could handle classical music. This music included a lot of Andantes, Largos and Nocturnes, slow movements presumably to fit a religious tone with scherzos and allegros for offering and postlude selection.

John Doczi, more usually a violinist in public performances, could also handle the pervasive selections such keyboard selection as the Andante from the second act of “The Magic Flute” and the “Chorale from Kreuzstab Cantata”.