Wichmann diploma, Chicago Musical College, 1922 August 8

The collection consists of four approximately equal parts: writings on music and miscellaneous, correspondence, printed programs, and other materials including ephemera, clippings, receipts, photographs, and an oversize student folio.

The writings include short essays on Mozart, Bizet, Rossini, Beethoven, and Ambroise Thomas. An oversized folio lists private students, the dates of lessons, and payments from 1921-1928. The photographs are of the Symphony Orchestra, students at the Chicago Musical College circa 1922, and teachers at the Musical College. Wichmann's 1922 diploma and a 1942 playbill for the Symphony Orchestra are also oversized.

The correspondence consists mainly of letters from fellow musicians and letters with high praise from numerous supporters of the Symphony Orchestra. The principal correspondents include Carl Strehle, a teacher of harmony from Leipzig, Germany who taught Wichmann; Carl Behr, a conductor writing from Asheville, North Carolina; Donn Mills, conductor of the ballet orchestra in Winnipeg, Canada, and also writing from elsewhere; Herland W. Cleaveland, a music teacher at Taylor University, Upland, Indiana; Louis Levine, a Charleston supporter of the Symphonic Orchestra; and H. Leon Larisey of Meggett, South Carolina, a father determined to help Wichmann turn his reluctant son into a musician. A 1912 letter to the American Federation of Labor details problems encountered in trying to unionize Charleston's musicians (nearly 13 pages).

Most of the printed programs date from 1926-1931 with one from 1940. The earlier programs for performances for the Symphony Orchestra in Hibernian Hall are extensive.

Other materials include ephemera relating to Wichmann and his musical career (1915-1960), clippings regarding the Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra (1925-1929), notes and receipts for events and expenses (1924-1928), Philharmonic Society of Charleston photgraphs (1925), Wichmann's Chicago Musical College diploma (1922), and an award given to Wichmann by the Charleston Real Estate Board (1966). Also includes one oversize student folio (1921-1928), which lists Wichmann's private students, lesson dates, and payment schedules.