1880s–1890s: Venues

Mrs. Parks’ Seminary for Young Ladies

M.S. Parks’ Seminary reflected the contemporary attitude that treated music as a peripheral, decorative branch of education. As an academic subject in girls’ schools, music was on a par with drawing, dancing, flower-arranging, and embroidery. In addition to improving technical proficiency, music teachers described their “wares” in catalogs and advertisements as “refined,” “polite,” “agreeable amusement,” “genteel,” and “an elegant accompaniment to education.” Excerpts from the student newsletter "Winter Crumbs" highlight the moralizing influence of music as a leisure activity and give a lighthearted look into the musical life of an average New Brunswick child.

Garland’s Music Store, 24 Albany Street

Garland’s Music Store-later, James and C. Hattersley Garland’s Music Store-was owned by Dr. James Garland (1828–1884). A music teacher and organist for the Presbyterian and Dutch Reformed churches, Garland was a prominent figure who accompanied visiting artists, as well as performed solo concerts of his own works. Locals like Johnny Connors’ eight-piece “orchestra” could rely on Garland, known as “the New Jersey King of Pianos and Organs,” and his Albany Street shop for the latest sheet music hand-copied from arrangers in New York.

A.C. Garland’s Music Store, 70 Church Street

The Garland family’s music store-later renamed, A.C. Garland’s Music Store-was relocated in 1875 to Church Street. It was the long sought-after agent for high-class Newby & Evans pianos, some of which graced the best homes of New Brunswick. The cozy shop was well stocked with musical instruments, replacement strings, the latest sheet music, and the celebrated sweet-toned Sterling organ. Its trade cards featured motifs that poked fun at the British Aesthetic Movement (1870–1880), with popular quotes from Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera Patience (1881).

After James Garland’s passing, his son, Alfred (Fred) C. Garland (1858–1905) took over the store. Like his father, Fred was a long-serving and popular musician in the city. Universally liked as a teacher and organist at the First Reformed Church, Fred Garland was best known for his talent as a dance hall player.