Get Involved: The life of composer Mildred Katherine Ellis

I've written many times we can become involved in our communities in many ways. My column this week certainly illustrates that.Dana Jones, Wash-ington County's certified administrator of elections, needs workers for the municipal election on Aug. 1 and the general election on Nov. 5. To qualify, you must live in and be a registered voter in Washington County. The county pays you.Jones said the jobs performed by election workers is a fundamental part of the election process. For additional information, send an email to workers@wceoffice.com or call 423-753-1688.For those of you who enjoy music, and like to plan ahead, you'll want to note this exciting concert on your calendar. I spoke with Guy Mauldin, who told me the Johnson City Symphony Orchestra will be performing an original composition by Johnson City native Mildred Katherine Ellis on Feb. 15, 2025, in the Mary B. Martin Center in Johnson City.A bit about the composer: Mildred Katherine Ellis was born at 314 Myrtle Ave. Her father ran a small grocery store. She owned the property until it was taken by eminent domain to build the section of Interstate 26 that is opposite of the Langston Centre.Dr. Ellis was born in 1906 and graduated from Langston High School in 1924 as class valedictorian. Her father died when she was only 3 years old, and her mother died when she was 19. Nevertheless, Dr. Ellis was able to graduate from Fisk University in Nashville with degrees in both music and French.Following graduation from Fisk, she continued her studies at the University of Michigan, receiving a master's degree in composition and French.Ellis wrote several compositions, most of them for the piano. However, there were several choral works.She only wrote one piece for the orchestra, "Keep Singin" in 1937. It has three parts. The first is a dirge labeled "masa," the section is a work theme she called "wok," with the final part being "singing."Dr. Ellis' dedication to "Keep Singin" reads: "In memory of the black and unknown bards of long ago who, bowed down in servitude and drive by hard taskmasters, left us the priceless heritage of song."In 1947, Dr. Ellis returned to Johnson City where she recruited performers from all of East Tennessee and presented "The Negro Music Festival" at the segregated East Tennessee State College, now East Tennessee State University. This festival was the first planned integrated musical performance in Johnson City and was sponsored by the Wednesday Morning Music Club.Mauldin also told me Ellis taught in several colleges, and eventually earned a Ph.D. in musicology from Indiana University. She ended her career in Washington, D.C., where she created a music program to enrich the lives of poor children.Ellis died in 2003 at the age of 97 and is buried in Johnson City.I found it interesting, too, that Dr. Ellis' older sister was Bertha Ellis, for whom the Bertha Ellis Girls Club in Johnson City was named.In preparation for the concert, the Johnson City Symphony Orchestra will place a plaque in her honor at the Langston Centre. For additional information, contact www.jcsymphony.com.Changing the subject to our pets, please remember rabies is always fatal.Josh Hinkle, DVM, Robinson Animal Hospital chief of staff, reminds us that it is a Tennessee state law to have our dogs and cats vaccinated against the rabies virus.Robinson's is sponsoring the 2024 Washington County Rabies Clinic on Tuesday, April 9, and Thursday, April 11, from 5-7 p.m. both days at the Washington County Health Department, 219 Princeton Road in Johnson City. Each vaccine is $15 and the clinic will be a drive-thru style operation.According to Ann Larson, the silver anniversary for the Boone Lake Cleanup Day will be April 20. It is the largest fundraiser of the year for the Boone Lake Association, which is a nonprofit.Volunteers are welcome to come and assist in cleaning the lake. With every bag of trash turned in, the volunteer will receive a door prize ticket, and a T-shirt, They also are invited to a picnic at Winged Deer Park.For more information, go to https://boonelakeassociation.org/events/boone-lake-clean-up/.Liz Banks reports Assistance and Resource Ministries will have its annual Double DQ Quest III on Saturday, April 13. T-shirt pickup will be from 8:30-10 a.m. at 104 Legion St. in Johnson City on race day.ARM invites you to participate in the event on the Tweetsie Trail, for a fun walk, run or ride to the Dairy Queen in Elizabethton. It's not a race, it's a quest, a quest for ice cream.Dogs on leashes are also invited, and for a $5 fee, they can have a race bandana. Everyone who participates receives a free ice cream cone from the Dairy Queen in Elizabethton, as do the dogs who are participating.For more information or to register call ARM at 542-0919. You can also register by going to www.ticketstripe.com/DoubleDQ3.Send your nonprofit news and pictures to Rebecca Henderson at rhenderson@johnsoncitypress.com.Rebecca Henderson is a consummate community volunteer, having served numerous nonprofits with her volunteer expertise. Her book, "Serving with Significance," inspires volunteers to make a positive difference in their community. She is on the Points of Light Foundation Inspiration Honor Roll, writes the "Today in Johnson City History" column for this newspaper, is a FINRA arbitrator and does freelance book editing.