Trinity Church Easter Music Rehearsal

“A rehearsal of the Easter music had been called for 4 p.m. The orchestra was in its place in the organ loft & began. After a few bars they stopped. There was something wrong. Morgan came down, leaving his baton in the hands of Richter, the first violin, & the orchestra went a little farther, & stopped again, and they put up their fiddles ‘like the Arabs & silently stole away’ leaving a large assemblage of people rather puzzled. The explanation is as follows, to wit. Some time ago, a Rev. Webb of Brooklyn got up a concert for the benefit of his church & engaged Morgan as its conductor. The concert was not successful, & the orchestra was only ½ paid. I do not see why the conductor is to be held responsible for this—but the ‘Musical Protective Union’–a sort of trades union conspiracy, to which nearly all the good professional instrumentalists belong, served notice this afternoon on [Felice] Eben, & the other members of the orchestra at Trinity Church, that they must not play under Morgan’s direction, on penalty of expulsion, & they obeyed, with much growling & discontent. This is not the first instance I have known of the tyranny of this secret irresponsible society. I directed Morgan to go to an instanter, engage, if possible, another orchestra of outsiders, & call a rehearsal for Saturday morning & told him that if the vestry demurred to any extra expense thus incurred, I would pay it myself.”