On Thursday evening, February 24, the Coral Gables Music Club and the Historic Preservation Association of Coral Gables joined together to celebrate the talent of 19 young people from eight to eighteen years old in the sanctuary of the Coral Gables Congregational Church at 3010 De Soto Boulevard. under the direction of the music club’s Artistic Director Angelica Sganga as part of the club’s annual student scholarship recital.
Ms. Sganga graduated with honors from Miami’s New World School of the Arts and received her Master’s degree in Piano Performance from FIU, becoming a member of the school’s faculty in 2007. As a former recipient of the music club’s scholarship program, she has given back to the community as the club’s Scholarship Program Director for the last 15 years.
All of the students who participated received the financial support of the Coral Gables Music Club in 2021-2022. The young artists played the music of classical composers in one the most historic venues of Coral Gables. The historic Congregational Church, which is located directly across from the Biltmore Hotel, was designed by architect Richard Kiehnel of the firm of Kiehnel and Elliott in 1923 and is regarded as a fine example of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture.
Prior to the Recital, over 50 members of both the Music Club and the HPACG attended a private reception at the historic home of Ann Rosalind Goodman. The members had the opportunity to meet each other and enjoy champagne and gourmet delicacies prior to traveling a few blocks south to enjoy the recital in the church’s sanctuary. The event committee included Carlos de Salazar, Don Queralto and Berenice Rodriguez.
Ann’s home, designed by famed pioneer Coral Gables architect H. George Fink is located in the “Castile Avenue Historic District” and is on land originally purchased by George Merrick’s father, Reverend Solomon Merrick, in 1898 after he moved his family from Pennsylvania to Miami. Following the elder Merrick’s death in 1911, George took over the plantation and quickly turned it into one of the most successful farms in the area. Longtime resident Connie Crowther says “This neighborhood was at one time part of the 160-acre Solomon Merrick plantation where they grew avocados, grapefruit and guava.”
Joanne Meagher, Chairman of the Merrick House Board of Governor’s noted that they also grew potatoes, tomatoes, okra and green beans. In 1915, George Merrick started to purchase land around the plantation and to invest in real estate. According to noted Greater Miami historian and author Seth Bramson, “With the strong Post World War I economy, and the expansion of the Florida East Coast Railway providing improved access to South Florida, and to no small extent because of that, Merrick’s dream of building a city based on Spanish revival style architecture was born.”
According to Barry University Adjunct Professor of history and Historian in Residence Seth Bramson” Coral Gables grew rapidly until the mid-1920s, when five terrible events of 1926, culminating with the horrific hurricanes of September 17th and 18th, the Florida real estate boom collapsed.”
Event Co-Chair Ann Goodman stated that the event “was a wonderful opportunity for the two nonprofit organizations to join together in order to share the talents of these young artists, listen to such wonderful music with other like-minded individuals who appreciate history and the arts in this magnificent setting!”. She further noted that she and the two groups “hope to join together in the future for more events such as this! This Annual Scholarship Recital is always scheduled for late February and is organized yearly for all who are interested to attend.”
Event Co-Chair Dr. Brett Gillis researched the history of the Coral Gables Music Club and notes that “the Club was founded in 1939 to advance the enjoyment and appreciation of the musical arts. Recognizing the need for a retirement community for the profession’s senior members who did not receive Social Security at the time, Dr. Bertha Foster, who was also a founding regent of the University of Miami, devoted nearly 30 years to bring the dream to fruition. As an offshoot of the Federation of Music Clubs, the Musicians Club of America, Inc. was founded as a cultural and living center for their community of cosmopolitan musicians. The first location was a mansion on Brickell Avenue. Though difficult to believe today, the musicians found the location to be too quiet and remote at the time! Dr. Foster discovered that the Coral Gables Inn, which was Coral Gables’ first hotel, was for sale and managed to purchase it. Sadly, what was for many years a great success in adaptive reuse the old inn turned into a tragedy for the historic preservation movement when Dr. Foster died and the Inn was eventually demolished. Demolitions such as this, together with the rapid growth during the post-war period and proliferation of high-rises that compete with The Biltmore to dominate the skyline, were early catalysts for the preservation movement in Coral Gables. “
Both organizations are grateful for the generosity of the Coral Gables Congregational Church for ongoing support and use of the facilities.
For more information on the Coral Gables Music Club, contact Ann Goodman at (305)582-0505 or website: gablesmusicclub.org.
For more information about HPACG, contact Dr. Brett Gillis or Dr. Karelia Carbonell at historiccoralgables.org.
Such a wonderful event! It was such a pleasure to attend this recital and experience the tremendous talent of these young artists! I hope more residents will reach out and join in. My special gratitude to the HPACG and the Coral Gables Music Club.