Foster Hall Quartet

The Foster Hall Quartet was photographed by Bretzman for WFBM Radio Station in 1930. Originally called the Colored YMCA Quartet, the group formed in the 1920s and was sponsored by the Senate Avenue YMCA. The quartet specialized in spiritual songs and was popular in the religious community. The group was discovered by local businessman and philanthropist Josiah K. Lilly and he persuaded them to change their name to the Foster Hall Quartet in honor of Stephen Foster, a favorite composer of Mr. Lilly. The group was also called the Stephen Foster Quartet and recorded as the Edison Jubilee Quartet. From this point on the group transitioned from their inspirational spirituals and began performing Stephen Foster songs under the sponsorship of Mr. Lilly. The quartet performed at cultural and artistic programs around the city and state, on the radio, and traveled to other states to perform. The group changed members occasionally. Seen here from left to right they are: Wallace Woolfolk, second tenor, he matriculated at the Indianapolis Conservatory of Music, Chicago Music College, and the Boston Conservatory of Music; Clarence Hicks, bass, was a teacher in the Indianapolis public school system; Howard Humphrey, baritone; George Marion Robinson, first tenor, a 1911 graduate of Franklin College, was an educator and musical director of many prominent churches.This image is a preservation copy made from an unstable original nitrate negative. The flaws in this image are due to the deterioration of the negative. The image is part of Series III. Information on the Foster Hall Quartet provided by researcher and author on African American musicians, David Williams