The History of the Grosse Ile Musicale

In December 1931, during the depth of the Great Depression, Grosse Ile was a serene and largely rural community with a population of fewer than 1,500 year-round residents.  It was in this context that a small group of women met at the home of Mrs. John Karmazin to formulate plans to establish a musical club on the island.

The first official meeting took place on January 15, 1932 with 56 charter members. Mrs. Karmazin was the first president of the club which was called the "Friday Musicale.”  The meeting dates chosen were Fridays because there was no symphony concert in Detroit on that day.  In later years, the club became known as the Grosse Ile Musicale.

Subsequently, the Musicale was instrumental in providing money for musical instruments and music for the Grosse Ile Schools. The club presented two Gilbert and Sullivan operettas - H.M.S. Pinafore in 1935 and The Mikado in 1937.

At that time, it also sponsored a music extension course given by University of Michigan Professor Glenn McGreoch. During the World War II years, the Musicale opened each meeting by singing the national anthem. In later years, the club sponsored transportation to the free symphony concerts in Detroit for children from the island.

The first mention of a Musicale sponsored scholarship appeared in 1938 for a "deserving Island resident" who was presumably a high school student. In recent years, the Musicale has established the Rose Marie Karmazin Founder’s Scholarship which is annually awarded by the organization's board of directors to talented student artists who plan to pursue further music or performing arts studies.

Although well-established long ago, the Musicale board of directors continues to strive to improve the organization. In this spirit, the club formally secured 501(c)(3) non-profit organization status in 2021 and began development of the web site which was launched in 2022.

The 2023-2024 season marks the 92nd year of bringing people together on Grosse Ile to enjoy unique musical events that entertain and further appreciation of performing arts while fostering friendships. The Musicale is the oldest social organization on the Grosse Ile that is not connected to golf.

We look forward to a bright future for the Musicale which will include celebrating 100 years of continuous operations in the year 2032.

Grosse Ile Musicale Founder

Rose Marie Karmazin

Born in Chicago, Illinois during 1889, Rose Marie Mares developed a passion for music at an early age which became her career, and then the focus of volunteerism throughout her life.

Rose graduated from the Columbia School of Music in Chicago in 1907. After graduation, she was employed as music director for a school system in Chicago.

In 1913, Rose married John Karmazin who was working as an engineer in Chicago. During the mid to late-1910s, she accompanied her husband to Moscow, Russia where he had been assigned by International Harvester to manage one of the first truck production plants in the country with the support of Czar Nicholas II's government.

While in Russia, Rose kept her interest in music alive by engaging with the Moscow Symphony Orchestra. In 1917, the Bolshevik Revolution forced the couple to flee Russia by way of the Trans-Siberian Railroad. The Karmazins were among the relatively few Americans who personally witnessed the Russian Revolution. They traveled to Japan, and then back to the United States where they lived in Washington, D.C. during 1918 before Mr. Karmazin joined the U.S. Army Military Intelligence Division, and was assigned to serve in Europe.

After Mr. Karmazin returned from military service in World War I and subsequent peacemaking activities in which he was involved for the U.S. State Department, the couple made their home in New York City for a few years. In 1926, they moved to Grosse Ile, Michigan and purchased a house on Parke Lane immediately south of the Grosse Ile Lighthouse along the Detroit River.

In December of 1931, Rose gathered together a number of music enthusiasts to discuss forming a music club on the island. This effort culminated in the establishment of the Grosse Ile Musicale in January of 1932. The first meetings were held in the Karmazins’ home on Parke Lane. It was an excellent setting for musical programs having two spacious living rooms which faced her grand piano and had a view of the river in the background.

While living on the island, Rose was a member of several social clubs in Detroit including the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, for which she served on the board of directors, and Detroit's Tuesday Musicale. Her husband founded the Karmazin Products Corporation in Wyandotte in 1946, and the company went on to produce radiators, oil coolers, condensers and other heat transfer devices based on his patents for more than 50 years.

The Karmazins purchased a summer home on Old Mission Peninsula which was driving distance from Interlochen Museum Camp, now known as the Interlochen Center for the Arts. Rose became active in the summer music programs at Interlochen for decades, and served as the state-wide scholarship chairman of the Michigan Federation of Music Clubs.

She served as the first president of the Grosse Ile Musicale and remained an active member until she died in 1956. Rose is also credited with founding the Grosse Ile Book Club in 1934.

Rose and her husband raised three children -- Josephine, John, Jr., and Ted -- on the island who survived them.

Detroit Free Press, December 6, 1931