MMD subscribers may be aware that I have an 88-note, full reproducing
Telektra brass roll player installed in a 1905 A.B. Chase piano. Most
of the rolls are arranged (and most are really well done and do sound
hand played) but they did a series of hand played rolls by many top
name pianists we know from Welte, Ampico and Duo-Art (e.g., Tina Lerner,
Clarence Adler, Felix Arndt, Arthur Friedheim, Marguerite Volavy).

Telektra also featured some very fine pianists who are not known at
all today, mostly from the New England area. One of their artists was
a lady by the name of Ethel Fernandez Ponce. She died fairly young in
1921, at age 33, due to complications from a surgery.

She was married to Phil Ponce who was the first manager/agent for
Fats Waller and had a career later in the music and radio industry.
Together, they produced two daughters who were well known in the
1920s and '30s in vaudeville and radio as The Ponce Sisters, Ethel
and Dorothea. You can find some of their recordings and even a short
film (Vitaphone?) on YouTube.

Ethel made a number of rolls for the Telektra, along the lines of
popular music heard in cabarets of the era. I have a few of her
recordings and they are very enjoyable. She also recorded some of
her own compositions but I have not as yet found any of those rolls.

The rolls of her own compositions were "Longboat", "Nestorest",
"On Her Veranda", and "Poinsettia". There may have been more, but
this information comes from the Billings Rollography, Vol. 6, The
Tel-Electric Company, and they were unable to locate titles and roll
numbers for all rolls actually recorded.

Anyway, the sheet music for at least one of her compositions is
available online and I am curious as to just how good of a composer
she was. Perhaps some subscribers who are also pianists might be
interested in performing this composition and I would be interested to
hear your opinion of her composing abilities. Perhaps more sheet music
for her compositions might be available on the internet. Be aware,
however, that her daughter Ethel also wrote music.

Here are some links:

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/161600065/ethel-ponce 

"In Lovin' Land" sheet music cover (1910)
https://www.mmdigest.com/Attachments/22/05/02/220502_100130_Ethel%20Ponce3.jpg 

"In Lovin' Land" sheet music 
https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1842&context=mmb-vp 

Dave Krall
Hammond, Indiana
djkrall@sbcglobal.net.geentroep [delete ".geentroep" to reply]