The GMA is located in the Greenville Municipal Building, built in 1939 as part of the Public Works Administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. The auditorium occupies the entire left portion of the photo.
It seems that in the past few years, Greenville has become the place to be for all sorts of musical venues. With such stellar entertainment as can be found at The Texan and at the Greenville Municipal Auditorium (GMA) to say nothing of the local talent highlighted at The Corner Street Pub, Ashen Rose, Blue Mesquite, and Landon’s Winery and Bistro, we have a wealth of entertainment within a short distance. But did you know that music has always played an important role in the history of Greenville?
Alfred T. Howell, a young attorney who made his way to Greenville in the early 1850s, wrote letters to his family in Richmond, Virginia. Fortunately for us, the family treasured the letters, preserved them for more than a century before donating them to the Library of Virginia where they have been transcribed and made available to the public. Howell wrote about the beautiful voices at the Slave Church he heard on Sunday mornings, about going to Shady Grove Baptist Church for Singing School on Sunday evenings, and the musical group Amelia Ende formed prior to the Civil War.
As Greenville ladies began to form Women’s Clubs, one was the Music Club. At least once a year one of the ladies hosted a Musicale, similar to a recital but held in the flower garden of the hostess’s home. Fifth Sunday Singings were held at Scatterbranch Baptist Church in those months that had five Sundays. It was the place for young people to gather.
Between 1895 and 1916 three colleges were formed in Greenville; Texas Holiness that later became Peniel University, Burleson College, and Wesley College. All three had music departments whose concerts and recitals were well attended by both students and local citizens. Wesley Methodist Church members enjoyed performances by their Sunday School Orchestra beginning in 1910. The orchestra of eight musicians led by W. W. Terry, included piano, violins, cornet, clarinet, and drums.
The Cameron Opera House and the King Opera House were venues for vaudeville and local talent. Some of the best-known acts of the late 19th and early 20th centuries played at the King.
In 1939 the Greenville Municipal Building was built with funding from the Public Works Administration, a New Deal agency. Architect William R. Ragsdale did an incredible job creating an auditorium with outstanding acoustics. Hunt County native Mack Harrell, a new member of the New York Metropolitan Opera, opened with a recital of German Lieder music. As soon as Majors Fields began training pilots, a new band was formed there. They called themselves Wings of Swing and often performed at the GMA, sometimes on Armed Forces Radio broadcast to troops in North Africa.
After the war ended, the GMA continued to present local and regional favorites such as Elvis Presley and Ruby Allmond. Performers with the Greenville Entertainment Series and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra joined them. Today we can enjoy a wide variety of musical talent. Maybe we should proclaim Greenville, Music Center of Northeast Texas!