By Jayden Franke – Collections Manager
After someone has passed, we often ruminate about the little details we never thought to ask, like, What was their favorite song? Which melody brought them comfort or got them on their feet to dance?
Our latest exhibit, “Between Surface Noise and Song: A Curated Selection of Music from the Chambers Family Collection,” explores these questions. By examining the national and local influences that shaped the Chambers family’s musical taste, we get a glimpse into their world—one shaped by both personal preference and the cultural soundscape of their time. Music is inherently complex and self-referential, built upon references, tributes, and samples that echo past melodies and the emotions they carry.
Likewise, we humans are living embodiments of creativity, shaped by the cultures we experience and driven by an ever-evolving search for meaning. This exhibit was curated as a way to delve deeper into the personalities of the Chambers family, using their musical choices as a window into their world.
Bringing the Collection to Life
The exhibit began by cataloging the Chambers Family Collection, identifying 161 records. The next step involved finding the correct versions of these songs online and compiling them into a playlist. From this collection, 20 songs were carefully selected, representing four key genres: Jazz, Classical, Show Tunes, and the FoxTrot, an evolution of Ragtime. Selections were guided by frequently appearing artists in the collection, such as Paul Whiteman and Franklyn Baur, and influential yet regionally recognized musicians like Tiny Parham and Bennie Moten.
What Did the Research Reveal?
A breakdown of the collection paints an interesting picture of the Chambers family’s musical interests:
🎭 16% of the songs come from musicals and motion pictures.
🎶 22% of the collection consists of Foxtrots.
🎻 13% is devoted to Classical music.
💃 9% features Waltzes.
These numbers reveal that, much like today, families have always enjoyed a diverse mix of popular music shaped by film, television, and social influences. For example, Homer Chambers (1878-1952) and Edith Fuller Chambers (1877-1964) would have been familiar with Opera performances, Classical music, and Ragtime. Their eldest daughter, Ruth Chambers (1902-1989), came of age during the Flapper era yet retained a deep appreciation for Classical music and Waltzes, influenced by both her parents and the cultural landscape of her time. In contrast, their youngest daughter, Florence Chambers (1912–2004), was born into a world where motion pictures had already emerged. Her formative years were shaped by the Flapper age, making her particularly receptive to the dance trends for Foxtrots and the Big Band sound. Although the family never upgraded to record players capable of playing vinyl, they continued to attend live musical performances throughout their lives.
Like Ruth Chambers, I too am a product of a generation (1999, Gen Z) born at the cusp of a new century—straddling two eras. Ours is a generation suspended between excitement and melancholy, rooted in the traditions of the past while cautiously optimistic about the present. Music is just one way that connects us to our heritage and our communities. Perhaps one day, it may offer clues about the world we lived in, the songs we loved, and the emotions we carried.