Our History

Tuesday Musical Club (TMC) holds the distinction of being the oldest music club for women in Texas. It was founded in 1901 by Mrs. Eli Hertzberg (Anna), a graduate of the New York Conservatory of Music, who found herself far from the cultured arts of New York City in the frontier town of San Antonio. There were six charter members of TMC who came together for the purpose of performing and discussing classical music. By 1902, the membership had grown to fifteen, and a yearbook was printed. At that time, all prospective members were required to audition. Meetings were held in Mrs. Hertzberg’s home, and she served as President until her death in 1937.

In 1903, a TMC choral group was formed and named the Tuesday Auxiliary Chorus. In 1904, Hertzberg started the San Antonio Symphony Society, which was active until World War I.  In 1915, her sister Mrs. Edward Sachs organized and directed a String Octet. A duo-piano ensemble began in 1916.

HIGHLIGHTS IN TMC HISTORY:

• An annual series of concerts called Musical Teas began on October 23, 1923 and has evolved—without interruption—into the club’s Artist Series concerts featuring world-class artists. It is one of the oldest continuous musical series sponsored by women in the U.S.
• The Junior Tuesday Musical Club  was formed in 1924.
• Since 1956, a Young Artists Competition has been held each spring for serious students of music who reside or study in Texas. The competition is held in piano, voice and strings in rotating years.
• In 1949, the present clubhouse at 755 N. St. Mary's Street was built on land leased from the city in Brackenridge Park. The members raised the money needed with donations and proceeds from the sale of the former meeting house. The bronze statue on the front lawn, titled Genius of Music, was given by Senator Harry Hertzberg in memory of his mother. It was designed by Pompeo Coppini and executed by Dr. Coppini, with the help of his protege, Dr. Waldine Tauch.   Formerly the members met first in Anna Hertzberg’s home and then in a house next door to the Hertzberg home on Euclid Avenue which they named the  Hertzberg Hall of Music.
• In the late 1950s, member-pianist Miss Estelle Jones contacted long-time TMC friend and beneficiary Brooks Smith in New York City.   He helped choose two Steinway Grands from the Steinway Warehouse on Long Island. The matched-tone D and B model instruments graced the TMC clubhouse stage until 1998, when they were replaced with two new matching Steinway B Grands.  Mrs. Hertzberg’s personal Mason & Hamlin Parlour grand piano is still used in the clubhouse today.