Abstract

After marriage ended her ten-year career as a professional saxophone soloist, Bessie Mecklem Hackenberger (1876–1942) was able to sustain her ability to perform publicly during her married life through her participation in two contrasting models of Progressive- Era women's clubs. Most musical clubwomen were singers and pianists; Hackenberger was unique as a saxophonist. She was also exceptional for her extensive prior musical experience. On the programs of the Tuesday Musical Club of East Orange, New Jersey, she performed transcriptions from the cultivated tradition rather than the popular and light classical numbers from the lyceum concerts of her teenage years. Her musical activities in Haddon Heights, New Jersey, were limited to the local level and in a club context; however, on occasion, she appeared in settings that had a wider audience, such as live radio broadcasts and the Philadelphia Sesquicentennial. Class and gender played a significant role in shaping Hackenberger. The affluent Mecklem family took a progressive stance toward her artistic interests. Though her upwardly mobile husband expected gender conformity, her women's club activities gave her a public voice. Paralleling the postwar club movement's shift from the goal of self-development to an emphasis on civic reform, Hackenberger became increasingly committed to contributing to her community's economic and social welfare.

Keywords: Bessie Mecklem; Mrs. B. L. Hackenberger; saxophonists, 19th century; women musicians; women's clubs; music clubs; Progressive Era

Introduction

During a time when female woodwind and brass players were rare, Bessie Harding Mecklem (1876–1942) became one of the earliest American-born saxophone soloists. Throughout the early 1890s, she and her father, harpist Henry Clay Mecklem (1841–1915), performed extensively in the New York City area and throughout the Northeast (fig. 1). H. C. Mecklem and his older brother William were partners in a private banking establishment—Mecklem Brothers—located in New York City. Gradually, H. C. Mecklem became financially comfortable enough to take a more passive role in the business in order to devote himself to touring and performing with his daughter. An esteemed member of the Royal Arcanum lodge in East Orange, New Jersey, H. C. Mecklem utilized his network of contacts among various fraternal societies to further his and Bessie's performing careers. Consequently, Bessie appeared in the widest variety of performance settings of any Gilded- Age saxophonist: lyceum and YMCA courses, temperance and fraternal society meetings, benefit concerts, solo performances with wind bands, church services, and amusement parks.