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Inventory of the Edward G. Borgens, Sr., and Helen Z. Donofrio Collection of Religious Sheet Music
GTU 2014-01-01
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Title: Edward G. Borgens, Sr., and Helen Z. Donofrio collection of religious sheet music
Dates: 1889-1973
Collection number: GTU 2014-01-01
Collector:
Borgens, Sr., Edward G.
Collector:
Donofrio, Helen Z.
Collection Size:
1.5 linear feet (6 boxes)
Repository: The Graduate Theological Union. Library.
Berkeley, CA 94709
Abstract: Religious sheet music from the collection of Edward G. Borgens, Sr. (1904-1984), organist and choral director, and Helen Z.
Donofrio (1910-1996), coloratura soprano, church soloist and light opera singer. Borgens was also a successful music retailer
in San Diego. His wife was an accomplished soloist and voice teacher in San Diego and Los Angeles.
Physical location: 7/E/4
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Latin
German
French
Collection is open for research.
Copyright has not been assigned to The Graduate Theological Union. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts
must be submitted in writing to the Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Graduate Theological Union
as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must
also be obtained by the reader.
Edward G. Borgens, Sr., and Helen Z. Donofrio collection of religious sheet music, GTU 2014-01-01. Graduate Theological Union
Archives, Berkeley, CA.
Edward George Borgens, Jr., 2014 January.
Biography / Administrative History
Edward G. Borgens, Sr. (1904-1984) and his wife Helen Z. Donofrio (1910-1996) met in San Diego in 1936. He had arrived from
the Midwest to play the Spreckels organ for the California Exposition. She sang on occasion in Balboa Park and traveled in
the same musical circles. They met in 1936 and were married in July 1937. They were members of the Central Christian Church.
He was the organist and choir director. She was a soloist and member of the choir.
Borgens grew up in the Midwest. He received a BA in music from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. He taught high school
drama and music. He began moonlighting as a silent movie theater organist. Finding he could make more money playing in one
night than teaching for an entire week, he became a regular movie theater organist, opening new theaters in North Dakota,
South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota and Iowa. He earned a MA in Music from MacPhail School of Music in Minneapolis in 1935.
During the 1930s, he hosted an early morning radio show in Lincoln playing popular songs on the organ. His base audience consisted
of farmers who had just finished their early morning chores and were sitting down for breakfast. The show's theme song was,
"The World is Waiting for the Sunrise."
In 1936, Borgens was invited by the California Exposition committee in San Diego to be the organist for the second California
Exposition. At first he declined, as his radio show was very successful. However, a later invitation came during a blizzard,
which ultimately persuaded him to move to "the land of sunshine and orange blossoms." In March he began playing the Spreckels
Organ at Balboa Park, seven days a week for six straight months for the exposition. His days consisted of rehearsing with
performing groups in the morning and playing in the afternoon and evenings. After the exposition closed, he remained in San
Diego and demonstrated and sold Hammond organs at Thearle's Music Company.
Donofrio grew up in San Diego. As a child, she was encouraged by her teachers to take vocal lessons to further develop her
singing voice. She performed recitals in the local community and for local civic groups. She followed her voice teacher to
Washington, D.C., in the 1930s. There, she performed with military personnel in armed forces radio shows and events. She sang
at the 1936 Democratic political convention. Concerned about the war in Europe, she returned to Southern California, where
she met her future husband and continued professional voice studies with Chris Anderson.
During World War II, Borgens worked at Consolidated Aircraft (later Corvair). There he put together a comprehensive music
department, which supplied programs for the Office of War Information to be broadcast to service personnel.
After the war, he resumed music retailing. He promoted the new electronic organs by Baldwin Piano Company as the San Diego
sales representative for Gutcher Piano Company of Bakersfield. He became store manager of a retail music store in the downtown
area. He expanded sales operations to include music stores in El Centro, California, and Phoenix, Arizona. In 1948, the owner,
Fred Gutcher, sold each of the subsidiary music stores to their store managers.
The Borgens Music Company served downtown San Diego for many years. Borgens became the number one salesman in the world for
Baldwin Model 5 church organs (200 sold). He sold pianos and spinets to individuals and school districts and arranged for
the instruments to be on hand for stage performances and practice in their rooms for such artists as Liberace and Jose Iturbi
and his sister.
After he sold his store in 1972, Borgens helped found and manage a three store restaurant chain in San Diego, the legendary
Organ Power Pizza. Customers were entertained with classical, popular and Karaoke music played by professional organists.
There was also a dance floor so customers could dance to the music. At the flagship store, he played a Moller organ acquired
from the BBC. He also became organist and choir director at Miramar Naval Air Station. He died in 1984.
Donofrio continued her career as a soloist. She helped develop the San Diego Youth Symphony, serving as secretary and producing
radio commercials for them. She became a popular voice teacher. After moving to Los Angeles, she continued as a regular church
soloist and volunteered to do sing-alongs for recovering veterans at the Veterans Administration Los Angeles. She died in
1996.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection contains religious sheet music from the 19th through the 20th century and books of musical scores. Some of
the scores are dedicated to Helen Z. Donofrio; others are signed by the composer, identified by (auto). There are multiple
copies, sometimes with slightly different versions, of a few of the songs. Most of the scores are published. A few of the
scores are handwritten.
The collection is arranged in the following series: Series 1. Religious Sheet Music; Series 2. Music and song books. The sheet
music is identified by Music (composer), Words (lyricist), Title and Date.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
Borgens, Edward George
Donofrio, Helen Z.
Central Christian Church--San Diego, Calif.
Consolidated Aircraft
Borgens Music Store
Spreckels Organ--Balboa Park (San Diego, Calif.)
Organ Power Pizza
Organ (Musical instrument)--United States.
Organ music.
Music -- Religious aspects.
Church music.
Sacred vocal music.
Music in churches.
Popular music -- United States.
Inventory of the Norman C. Mealy Collection of 18th Century Methodist Hymnals,
GTU 96-8-01.
There are numerous hymnals in the GTU library.
Who’s Who in Religion, 2nd Edition. 1977. (Duplicate in library's collection.)