Piano Recitals under Clare O'Cordan

For at least two consecutive springs — May 1947 and May 1949 — Lauren Ekroth performed in the annual recitals of Superior piano teacher Clare O’Cordan. The first recital, announced in the Evening Telegram on May 24, 1947, was held at Superior State College auditorium; the second, on May 30, 1949, at the Labor Temple. Both were public events open to the community.

In 1947, Lauren, age 12, appeared third in a program of twenty students; his sister Cynthia also performed that evening under the same teacher. By 1949, Cynthia was no longer on the list, but Lauren — now 14 — continued as one of thirteen students. The two-year arc documents a deliberate investment in formal arts instruction by the Ekroth household, alongside their children’s involvement in church programs and athletics.

Piano instruction may not have persisted into high school — no further recital notices have been found after 1949 — but the training was part of a broader performance education that also included church recitations, songs at community events, and, soon after, school drama. The same Superior State College auditorium where Lauren performed piano as a seventh-grader would become the stage where he starred in Shakespeare and Shaw five years later.