Bernice Brusen papers

This collection was compiled and maintained by Bernice Brusen, a musician and life-long Boise music activist, teacher, and performer. She was a student at St. Margaret's Hall, a school for girls. She served actively with Boise Music Week and other music organizations and institutions in southwest Idaho. While most of the contents of the collection pertain to Boise Music Week, programs from St. Margaret's and other institutions are also included. A researcher interested in Ms. Brusen' s life and achievements will find this a useful collection.

The date range for the collection is chiefly from 1922 to about 1965, with a few programs and other items of later dates. Boise Music Week, an annual celebration of music free to the public and featuring local talent, began in 1919. The celebration was the first of its type in the nation. Many other communities followed under the auspices of the National Federation of Music Clubs. Music Week events in Boise, including a "Broadway musical" were offered free to the public, a feat not common in other Music Week celebrations. The event was run by a board, of which Ms. Brusen was a member. She apparently was also the board's historian, and did her job by assembling and preserving the many scrapbooks in the collection. These contain news clips from local newspapers, some programs, and a few letters.