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Mai Davis Smith was the first professional impresario in Buffalo. She presented American opera singer Geraldine Farrar and famed pianist Olga Samaroff on local stages several times.

The New York Symphony Orchestra and famed conductor Walter Damrosch performed many times in Buffalo.  Mai Davis Smith, the first professional impresario in Buffalo, arranged for several world-class orchestras to play at local concert halls.

Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini was one of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 19th and of the 20th century. Buffalo Morning Express drama critic and playwright Marian de Forest managed the Buffalo Musical Foundation and presented this…

Buffalo drama critic Marian de Forest wrote the first stage play of the novel Little Women. She and Jessie Bonstelle, an actress and theatre manager, received permission from Louisa May Alcott's family to write and stage the story. This production…

Harold Bauer and Ossip Gabrilowitsch were famous pianists who played solo in Buffalo several times.  Gabrilowitsch has another Buffalo connection--he married Mark Twain's daughter Clara Clemens, a singer.  He also became good friends with Mai Davis…

French actress Sarah Bernhardt, “The World’s Greatest Artiste” performed the Death of Cleopatra and other tragic scenes.The original owner of this program was very moved by Bernhardt's performance and noted “She’s wonderful—But she tears one to…

Russian-American violinist Jascha Heifetz is known as one of the greatest violinists of all time. Mai Davis Smith, the first professional impresario in Buffalo, engaged him to play here when he was still a teenager.

Rachmaninoff was a famous Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who performed in Buffalo many times.  Bellanca, Michael, and Kraft were some of the first female impresarios in Buffalo.

One of several visits to Buffalo by famed conductor Damrosch and the New York Symphony Orchestra. The concert was arranged locally by Mai Davis Smith, the first professional impresario in Buffalo.

Ignacy Jan Paderewski was a Polish pianist and composer, politician, statesman and spokesman for Polish independence. He was a favorite of concert audiences around the world. Mai Davis Smith engaged him to play in Buffalo for her subscription concert…