Carmel Impresarios

Carmel-by-the-Sea, a little town on the California coast, was one of the artistic hot spots of the West in the early 1920s, when two extraordinary women paid a visit one spring, and never left. Dene Denny and Hazel Watrous designed Carmel's first art gallery, and three dozen of its early houses. They founded the Carmel Music Society in 1927, and-in the midst of the Great Depression-they created the Carmel Bach Festival. For two decades they ran a successful repertory theater in Monterey and a major performing arts series in San José. In a man's world, their partnership brought music and harmony to Central California and far beyond.

Carmel Impresarios is a cultural biography of these two amazing pioneers in music, architecture, design, and the arts. The book spans more than a century of history (1830-1960) and includes nearly 300 vintage photos and illustrations. It places the life and work of Denny and Watrous within the context of the artistic, intellectual, and cultural currents of early 20th century California.