The Chicago Symphony in miniature on display at Glessner House

ABC 7 News featured a piece on the Glessner House Museum last night. As noted in an earlier blog post, John and Frances Glessner helped establish the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

The Chicago Orchestra in miniature

In 1913, as a birthday gift to her mother, Frances Glessner Lee created the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in miniature. The model which has been in storage at the CSO for about 100 years will go back on display January 16, 2013, for a limited time at the Glessner House Museum. The model includes 75 musicians and their instruments under the direction of conductor Frederick Stock. Theodore Thomas was the first conductor of the CSO.

During the 1940s and 1950s, Mrs. Lee built miniature crime scenes based on real cases in order to train detectives to assess visual evidence and are still in use today. The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death by Corrine May Botz is available wherever books are sold as well as at the Glessner House tour center.

On Wednesday night at a 7 p.m. lecture, the model of the orchestra will be officially displayed at Glessner House. Descendants of conductor Frederick Stock and concertmaster Harry Weisbach will be on hand for this event.

For more information on the Glessner House Museum, including hours of operation, visit their Web site.