I HAVE NO FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE FOLLOWING. FOR ANYONE INTERESTED I CAN MAKE A COPY OF THIS ARTICLE FOR YOU. Ref: The Hearthstone Town and Country newspaper Pennsburg, Montgomery County, PA Thursday - June 19, 2003 TEACHING MUSIC WITH STYLE "The study of music keeps the interest of young people in the home and in home amusements. Great thinkers place the highest value upon musical training as a means of leading to refinement, culture, and self-control. It will be unquestionably beneficial to have your child study music." These were the words of Professor Claude HARLEY (picture), a spirited and dedicated musician, composer and teacher in East Greenville for the first half of the twentieth century. This gifted instrumentalist grew up as a child virtuoso. Some professionals felt that he bordered on genius. His dedication to the piano was an inspiration to his teachers and later in life to his pupils. HARLEY was born in Spring Mount. He began studying music at the age of eight and the following year he became the regular organist in the Evangelical Sunday School at Zieglersville. At the ripe age of 12 he was elected organist of the Heidleberg Reformed Church in Schwenksville. When he turned 15, he began studying at the Broad Street Conservatory of Music in Philadelphia. Claude graduated in 1902 and went on to study piano privately under the tutelage of Gilbert COMBS, the Director of the Broad Street Conservatory. Combs once wrote of his young student, "He was a faithful and painstaking pupil and showed talent in both branches. I shall watch his career with much interest, for I am sure that he will accomplish all that he undertakes." While at the Philadelphia school, he was a founding member of the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia fraternity at the institution. The organization was originally founded by a group of men at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts in 1898. The goal of the group was to instill the "deepest ideals of manhood into the boys of the conservatory, with the hopes of generating men with a strong social conscience and a deep understanding of the effects of their art upon others." The fraternity wanted to "make boys into men - manly musicians." After studying under COMBS, HARLEY spent three years studying under the direction of Harold NASON at the Leschtizky School of Piano Playing in Philadelphia. Theodore LESCHTIZKY was a world-renowned piano virtuoso from Austria, and a master at teaching and performing. NASON was a gifted musician himself, and an assistant and prior student of LESCHTIZKY. For a period of time, while he was training at the Leschtizky School, HARLEY ran a music studio in Norristown. When one of his former instructors, Professor H.K. BECHTEL of East Greenville, died in 1905, HARLEY relocated to that borough and opened the "Harley Studio of Music" at 224-226 Main Street. For over 50 years he lived and taught music at that location. For student recitals, the studio could accommodate seating for 130 people. HARLEY always encouraged the public to attend the performances and the recitals always received great reviews from newspapers all over the area. Raves like "The young musicians showed consummate skill and aptness, and reflected the genius of their instructor, who is enjoying remarkable success" from The Town and Country, or "The way in which Mr. HARLEY's pupils rendered their selections shows that he is quite a successful teacher ... his work is thought of very highly" from the Schwenksville Item. After attending one of HARLEY's recitals, a critic for the Allentown Daily City Item reported, "the splendid manner in which Mr. HARLEY's pupils rendered their selections speaks highly in favor of his excellent teaching." HARLEY's success was most likely attributed to his method of teaching. He introduced the LESCHTIZKY method to the area. HARLEY's way of instructing was developed from ideas taken from various methods that he studied over the years. While he formulated them into his own style, the LESCHTIZKY method played a prominent role. The method included "studying a musical score in the minutest detail in order to discover all the implied and hidden meanings and then find a way to their technical solution. The musical ideal came first for which the technical solution would be found. To succeed in this, a thorough technical training, based primarily on extensive study of scales, chords and double notes including octaves, as well as etudes waD a prerequisite." This was definitely a no-nonsense approach! His former instructor, Harold NASON praised HARLEY when he wrote, "it gives me great pleasure to state that my pupil, Mr. Claude HARLEY, is a pianist of much talent and is well equipped to teach the LESCHTIZKY method with comprehension and success. As an accomplished piano and organ player, HARLEY was often called upon to fill in at local churches during this half-century in the area. For more than 20 years, he was organist, pianist and orchestra accompanist in the Aurora Theater in Pennsburg. He thrilled audiences in 1922 when he performed on the newly installed Hope-Wurlitzer organ at the theater - the first of its kind in the area. During his lifetime HARLEY composed several musical pieces that were published. Among them were Sinfonia Waltz (dedicated to the Phi Mu Alpha fraternity), Heart Whispers, College Carnival March and Reverie. Picture - The studio of Prof. Claude HARLEY at 224-226 Main Street, East Greenville, C-1912. Picture - The cover of one of the music studio's programs from 1912.