Performances + Events
Esther W. Sands
Esther W. Sands Hocker, wife of the late Lou Hocker Jr., died in Falmouth, MA on January 24, 2008 at the age of 99. She was a summer resident of Woods Hole, MA her whole life and a year-round resident since the 1960s.
Born in October 1908 to Josephine and Dr. Benjamin Sands (a Port Chester, NY physician), Esther attended Greenwich Academy, graduating in 1926. Esther also attended Miss Childs School of Fine Arts and Crafts. A life-long musician, she graduated from New England Conservatory with diplomas in both voice and piano in 1929.
After NEC, Sands studied at L’Accademia Chigana in Siena, Italy. Subsequently she sang leading roles in operas in Westchester County, NY and joined the Dessoff Chorus. After she married in 1937, she lived in St. Louis until the 1960s. At the age of 60, she decided to learn the harp and played in small ensembles there and on the Cape in the summer. When she moved to Woods Hole year round, she played with the Cape Cod Symphony. Her husband used to joke as he transported her harp to concerts, “I wish she had chosen the piccolo.” She is survived by a daughter, Priscilla Hocker Claman of Weston, Massachusetts, and by a son, Lon Hocker III of Hilo, Hawaii.
Source: The Boston Globe, February 3, 2008
Archival Collection
2 record cartons
The Esther W. Sands Papers were donated to the NEC Alumni office in October 2009 by Esther W. Sands’ daughter, Priscilla Hocker Claman. They were subsequently transferred to the NEC Archives
Access to the Esther W. Sands Papers is granted by the Archivist. Appointments must be scheduled in advance. There are no restrictions pertaining to this collection.
All copyrights to this collection belong to the New England Conservatory. Permission to publish materials from this collection is granted by the Archivist. This collection should be cited as: NECA 18.27. Esther W. Sands Papers, New England Conservatory Archives, Boston, MA.
Dates 1915-1946; Bulk dates: 1926-1930.
The Esther W. Sands Papers which date from 1915-1946 (primarily from 1926-1930) are organized into two series: Correspondence and Memorabilia. While correspondence in this collection dates from 1915 into the 1940s, this collection primarily consists of correspondence between Esther Sands and her family in Port Chester, NY, while Esther was a student at New England Conservatory from 1926-1929. The vast majority of the letters are between Esther and her mother, Josephine Sands. There is also correspondence from Esther’s two younger sisters, Josephine and Dorothy. Interspersed throughout the correspondence are newspaper clippings, photographs, sketches and programs etc.
The second series consists of loose memorabilia that were not included in with the letters. There are four folders which contain NEC memorabilia, programs, newspaper clippings, and other ephemera. The NEC items consist of ID cards, assignments for class, class schedules etc. The programs are primarily from churches and other musical venues in Boston. Included with the small folder of ephemera is information regarding the donation of this collection and related biographical articles about Sands that were found online.
Box 1 – Folder 1
- Correspondence, 1915, 1925 – July 1926
Box 1 – Folder 2
- Correspondence, August – September 1926
Box 1 – Folder 3
- Correspondence, October 1926
Box 1 – Folder 4
- Correspondence, November 1926
Box 1 – Folder 5
- Correspondence, December 1926
Box 1 – Folder 6
- Correspondence, January 1927
Box 1 – Folder 7
- Correspondence, February 1927
Box 1 – Folder 8
- Correspondence, March 1927
Box 1 – Folder 9
- Correspondence, April 1927
Box 1 – Folder 10
- Correspondence, May 1927
Box 1 – Folder 11
- Correspondence, June 1927
Box 1 – Folder 12
- Correspondence, September 1927
Box 1 – Folder 13
- Correspondence, October 1927
Box 1 – Folder 14
- Correspondence, November 1927
Box 1 – Folder 15
- Correspondence, December 1927
Box 1 – Folder 16
- Correspondence, January 1928
Box 1 – Folder 17
- Correspondence, February 1–15,1928
Box 1 – Folder 18
- Correspondence, February 16-29, 1928
Box 1 – Folder 19
- Correspondence, March 1-15, 1928
Box 1 – Folder 20
- Correspondence, March 15-31, 1928
Box 1 – Folder 21
- Correspondence, April 1928
Box 1 – Folder 22
- Correspondence, May 1928
Box 1 – Folder 23
- Correspondence, June 1928
Box 2 – Folder 1
- Correspondence, September 1928
Box 2 – Folder 2
- Correspondence, October 1928
Box 2 – Folder 3
- Correspondence, November 1928
Box 2 – Folder 4
- Correspondence, December 1928
Box 2 – Folder 5
- Correspondence, January 1929
Box 2 – Folder 6
- Correspondence, February 1929
Box 2 – Folder 7
- Correspondence, March 1-14, 1929
Box 2 – Folder 8
- Correspondence, March 15-31, 1929
Box 2 – Folder 9
- Correspondence, April-June 1929
Box 2 – Folder 10
- Correspondence, August-September 1929
Box 2 – Folder 11
- Correspondence, October 1929
Box 2 – Folder 12
- Correspondence, November 1929
Box 2 – Folder 13
- Correspondence, December 1929
Box 2 – Folder 14
- Correspondence, January 1930
Box 2 – Folder 15
- Correspondence, February 1930
Box 2 – Folder 16
- Correspondence, March 1930
Box 2 – Folder 17
- Correspondence, April 1930
Box 2 – Folder 18
- Correspondence, May 1930
Box 2 – Folder 19
- Correspondence, June-August 1930
Box 2 – Folder 20
- Correspondence, November-December 1930
Box 2 – Folder 21
- Correspondence, 1931
Box 2 – Folder 22
- Correspondence, January-June 1932
Box 2 – Folder 23
- Correspondence, July 1932
Box 2 – Folder 24
- Correspondence, August 1932
Box 2 – Folder 25
- Correspondence, September-December 1932
Box 2 – Folder 26
- Correspondence, 1933-1938
Box 2 – Folder 27
- Correspondence, 1940-1946
Box 2 – Folder 28
- Correspondence, Undated
Box 2 – Folder 29
- Memorabilia – NEC items
Box 2 – Folder 30
- Memorabilia – Newspaper clippings
Box 2 – Folder 31
- Memorabilia – Programs
Box 2 – Folder 32
- Memorabilia – Ephemera
