The St. Cecilia Society of Charleston, South Carolina, named for the traditional patron saint of music, was formed in 1766 as a private subscription concert organization. Over the next fifty-four years, its annual concert series formed the most sophisticated musical phenomenon in North America.
Due to loss of the organization's administrative records during the American Civil War, much inaccurate information about the society has been published. Its important role in the formation of early American musical culture has largely been overlooked.
Although its musical patronage ended in 1820, the St. Cecilia Society continues to flourish today as one of South Carolina's oldest and most exclusive social institutions.
Origin
Many writers have labeled Charleston's St. Cecilia Society the first musical society in the United States, but it would be more accurate to describe it as the earliest known private subscription concert organization in North America. Similar subscription concert organizations, such as the Academy of Ancient Music, abounded in mid-18th-century Britain, and similar subscription series also appeared in Boston, New York City, and Philadelphia in the mid-1760s. Unlike those northern examples that were founded as public commercial ventures run by professional musicians, however, Charleston's St. Cecilia Society was established as a private organization. It was incorporated and administered by gentlemen amateurs, who contracted with professional musicians to present an annual series of private concerts. This arrangement not only endowed the society with a more secure financial base, but also ensured its survival beyond the initial generation of founders.
Since the loss of the society's earliest records, its founding date has been the subject of a good deal of speculation and confusion. A wide range of dates, spanning from as early as 1732 to as late as 1784, has been published in various books and articles over the past century, but the year 1762 is most often cited in reference to the society's origin. Unfortunately, this widely accepted date is grounded on inaccurate information taken from secondary sources. The preponderance of historical evidence, of which there is a considerable amount, clearly places the founding of Charleston's St. Cecilia Society in the year 1766.
Early membership
The full list of the early members of Charleston's St. Cecilia Society perished with the rest of its records during the Civil War. Recent efforts to reconstruct the early membership from archival sources have yielded more than two hundred names, which, while representing only a fraction of the membership, allow some general conclusions to be drawn. From the beginning, the St. Cecilia Society's membership included the most prosperous planters, politicians, lawyers, physicians, and merchants in the South Carolina Lowcountry.
As with other social organizations and political institutions formed in 18th-century South Carolina, the society's early membership consisted entirely of white Protestant men, the majority of whom were members of the Anglican or Episcopal Church. Following the example of the numerous subscription concert organizations in late 18th-century Britain, the membership of the St. Cecilia Society was (and still is) open only to men. Women have formed a significant part of the audience at the society's events since 1767, but they have never been considered as members of the organization.
Concert series
Over the span of 54 years of concert activity, 1766 to 1820, the St. Cecilia Society presented 43 seasons of regular concerts. The eleven years of apparent inactivity were the result of the American Revolution (eight seasons, autumn 1775 - spring 1783), financial complications (two seasons, autumn 1788 – spring 1790), and the War of 1812 (one season, autumn 1814 - spring 1815).
While the date of the commencement and termination of each season varied from year to year, the concerts generally began in mid-autumn and continued fortnightly through early spring. The number of concerts each season also varied, but over the course of half a century they averaged at least eight or nine performances per season.
Elegant balls or dancing assemblies replaced the concerts after 1820, but dancing was not a new addition to the society's activities. Beginning with its inaugural season in 1766-67, each concert was followed by several hours of social dancing. Since 1820, however, dancing assemblies have been the focus of the society's annual events.
