Maine Memory Network

Remembering Mellie Dunham: Snowshoe Maker and Fiddler

Alanson Mellen "Mellie" Dunham and his wife Emma "Gram" Dunham were well-known musicians throughout Maine and the nation in the early decades of the 20th century. Mellie Dunham also received fame as a snowshoe maker.

Hermann Kotzschmar: Portland's Musical Genius

During the second half of the 19th century, "Hermann Kotzschmar" was a familiar household name in Portland. He spent 59 years in his adopted city as a teacher, choral conductor, concert artist, and church organist.

Elise Fellows White: World Traveling Violin Prodigy

Elise Fellows White was a violinist from Skowhegan who traveled all over the world to share her music.

Music in Maine - PLAY

"PLAY Watching musicians sing and play music in public is an important communal experience for the performer and the audience."

Elise Fellows White: Music, Writing, and Family

From a violin prodigy in her early years to an older woman -- mother of two -- struggling financially, Skowhegan native Mary Elise Fellows White remained committed to music, writing, poetry, her extended family -- and living a life that would matter and be remembered.

Music in Maine - Music stores

"Many Maine musicians who went on to regional or national success sold their first CD at Bull Moose. Many prominent musicians and celebrities have…"

Music in Maine - Bluegrass Music

"… spread north via radio, and when some bluegrass musicians migrated to Maine, they brought the music with them, including the Lilly Brothers from…"

Music in Maine - Military Marching Bands

"Veteran musicians created civilian bands, often replicating their former military service in music choices and uniform styles."

Music in Maine - Community and School Marching Bands

"… Community bands, historically comprised of male musicians, embraced diverse heritages, different languages,, and culture-specific instruments, such…"

Music in Maine - Radio Cowboys and Country Music

"… on records and radio broadcasts, influencing musicians nationwide. In Maine, French ballad traditions added unique sounds to the music."

Music in Maine - MAKE

"MAKE Music makers include musicians, artists, and craftspeople who make instruments, write songs, and make music in the home and community settings."

Music in Maine - Music Education

"… praising him as "one of the talented young musicians of this town, possessing a very strong and sweet singing voice." Starting in the 1920s, cowboy…"

Music in Maine - Sacred Music

"… use reeds and airflow to create sounds, but the musician pumps the instrument by foot rather than using their arms."

Music in Maine - Music and Television

"… Schooner Fare’s Steve Romanoff and big band musician Tony Boffa. Dave Astor Show "Regulars" Suzanne Svenson on Dave Astor, 1964Maine…"

Music in Maine - Country Music

"… band in New England, included Black and White musicians from Yarmouth and the Portland region. Later called the Katahdin Mountaineers, they played…"

Music in Maine - Community Music

"… with Quebecois master stepdancer, caller, and musician Benoit Bourque through the Maine Arts Commission’s Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program."

Music in Maine - Music Makers

"Soren Bruns, Musician Soren Bruns’ clarinet, Portland, ca. 1897Maine Historical Society Born in Rapsted Field, Denmark, Soren Hansen Bruns…"

Music in Maine - Rock and Roll, Punk, and Elvis

"When these touring rock and roll musicians were making stops in places like Pittsburgh, Baltimore, New York, Washington and Boston, what was it about…"

Strike Up the Band

Before the era of recorded music and radio, nearly every community had a band that played at parades and other civic events. Fire departments had bands, military units had bands, theaters had bands. Band music was everywhere.

Music in Maine - Music in Maine

"Music in Maine Music is something we share as humans—non-verbal forms of storytelling and expressions of beauty and emotions through sound."

Music in Maine - Longfellow Family Music

"Longfellow Family Music “Music is the universal language of humankind.” --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Outre Mer, 1835 Henry Wadsworth…"

Music in Maine - HEAR

"HEAR The invention of recording machines opened up a world of choices for listening to music without leaving the home."

Music in Maine - Opera, Orchestras and Stages

"Opera, Orchestras and Stages Click to learn more about Maine's Opera Houses Many Maine towns in the 19th and early 20th centuries had an…"

Music in Maine - B-flat fife, ca. 1860

"B-flat fife, ca. 1860 Contributed by Maine Historical Society Description This fife was used by John Robbins when he was a drummer in the…"