The America's Composers Radio Program
|
|
|
Dee-Scription: |
Home >> D D Too Home >> Radio Logs >> America's Composers |
The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers co-sponsored America's Composers for its 13-week run
The Eastman School of Music co-sponsored America's Composers
The Rockefeller Institute Eastman School of Music's Kilbourn Hall was the venue from which the America's Composers broadcasts were recorded
Dr. Howard Hanson, gifted composer and Director of the Eastman School of Music led the Eastman School of Music's All-Student Symphony and Symphonic Wind Ensemble for America's Composers
|
Background: The Eastman School of Music and ASCAP
The Rockefeller Institute added the Eastman School of Music to its campus in 1921--a $17M investment in its day. The imposing edifice housed the Eastman Theatre in Kilbourn Hall, a venue initially employed for screening films and mounting stage plays. By 1927, the Eastman School's student symphony debuted in the first of hundreds of performances in the Eastman Theatre over the years. Dr. Howard Hanson, a gifted young composer in his own right, arrived at the Eastman School in 1924, eventually becoming the Eastman School's Director.
The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) was founded in 1914 in an effort to ensure "that music creators are fairly compensated for the public performance of their works, and that their rights are properly protected. " The Society is entirely member-owned and has made a significant impact throughout the Music Industry for just over 98 years as of the writing of this article.
NBC, ASCAP, and the Eastman School of Music celebrate America's great composers
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) joined with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) in sponsoring a series of thirteen weeks of celebration of America's great composers. It's perhaps only fitting that NBC and ASCAP obtained the talents of Dr. Howard Hanson and his Eastman School of Music Symphony and Dr. Frederick Fennel and his Eastman School Wind Ensemble to showcase the works of these great American composers. Fitting, because though these broadcasts were brilliantly performed under Dr. Hanson's direction, the Eastman School of Music Symphony was entirely composed of [then] current students of the Eastman School--no alumni or faculty whatsoever.
Also quite fitting, was ASCAP's whole-hearted sponsorship of the series. This was after all a series honoring America's great composers. And who better to promote such an undertaking than the society most influential over the years in protecting and promoting these great composers' works.
America's Composers premiered at midnight on February 2nd 1953--a Monday--and aired without preemption on that day and timeslot for its entire thirteen weeks.
From the January 24th 1953 issue of The Billboard:
ASCAP NBC Seg
To Aid Longhairs
Institutional Promotion to Originate From
Eastman School; 13-Week Series Set
NEW YORK, Jan. 17.--The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, in cooperation with the National Broadcasting Company, will present a program titled "American [sic] Composers," starting Monday, February 21 [sic], 11:30-midnight, EST.
The program particularly aimed at familiarizing listeners with the works of composers of serious American music, will originate from the Eastman School of Music, Rochester, N.Y. The program, which is scheduled for a 13-week series, is definitely set for WNBC, but is also offered to network affiliates.
The ASCAP-TV [sic] series has long been in the works. It is another indication that the society is hyping its activity in serious music.
Pitt Music Festival
An earlier indication of similar interest by ASCAP in the serious music field was the Society's participation in the recent Pittsburgh Music Festival. Viewed from an over-all vantage point, the Society's NBC program is indicative of the Society's increasing attempt to sell itself institutionally to the public. Other instances, in addition to the Pittsburgh Festival, were the two ASCAP programs presented several months ago on the Ed Sullivan TV program.
The NBC programs, emanating from the Eastman school, will be performed by the Eastman School Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Dr. Howard Hanson and the Eastman School Wind Ensemble, conducted by Dr. Frederick Fennel.
The music for each program will be selected by a board of judges including Dr. Hanson; Howard Taubman, author and music editor of the New York Times, and Samuel Chotzinoff, NBC general music director.
ASCAP said that altho the program is being provided by ASCAP, the music will not be limited to the works of ASCAP composers. "The major emphasis will be on contemporary American music, but occasional excursions into the past will be made, particularly of American music which has not been too widely played."
In addition to the Symphony and Wind Ensemble, the school's chorus will from time to time be utililzed, along with other instrumental combinations.
Program format provides for a short address by a composer or figure in the music world on each program.
Otto A. Harbach, ASCAP president, said the series would further the ASCAP goal of giving a hearing to new compositions--as well as more familiar works--by American composers.
|
|
|
Series Derivatives:
|
None |
|
Genre: |
Anthology of Golden Age Radio Symphony Music |
|
Network(s): |
NBC |
|
Audition Date(s) and Title(s): |
None |
|
Premiere Date(s) and Title(s): |
53-02-02 01 Guest Otto Harbach |
|
Run Dates(s)/ Time(s): |
53-02-02 to 53-04-27; NBC; Thirteen, 30-minute programs; Mondays at midnight |
|
Syndication: |
|
|
Sponsors: |
NBC; Eastman School of Music; American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) |
|
Director(s): |
Dr. Hanson, Howard Taubman, Samuel Chotzinoff [Selection Judges] |
|
Principal Guests: |
Otto Harbach, Virgil Thompson, David Diamond, Morton Gould, Dr. Howard Hanson, Dr Cornelius W. de Kleviet, Dr Douglas Moore, Bernard Rogers, Randall Thompson, Aaron Copland, Harl McDonald, Norman Della Joio |
|
Recurring Character(s): |
|
|
Protagonist(s): |
None |
|
Composers(s): |
William Grant Still, Wayne Barlow, Dr. Paul White, Dr. Douglas Moore, Roger Sessions, Harl McDonald, George Gershwin, Robert Russell Bennett, Aaron Copland, Walter Piston, Norman Della Joio, John Philips Souza, Walter Hartley, William Purcell, Ron Nelson |
|
Solists(s) |
James Alexander [Oboe] |
|
Music Direction: |
Dr. Howard Hanson and the The Eastman School of Music Symphony;
Dr. Frederick Fennel and the Eastman School Symphonic Wind Ensemble
The Eastman School of Music Chorus |
|
Musical Theme(s): |
Unknown |
|
Announcer(s): |
Homer Bliss |
|
Estimated Scripts or
Broadcasts: |
13 |
|
Episodes in Circulation: |
6 |
|
Total Episodes in Collection: |
3 |
|
Provenances: |
|
|
|
RadioGOLDINdex, Hickerson Guide.
Notes on Provenances:
The most helpful provenances were the log of the RadioGOLDINdex and newspaper listings.
What you see here, is what you get. Complete transparency. We have no 'credentials' whatsoever--in any way, shape, or form--in the 'otr community'--none. But here's how we did it--for better or worse. Here's how you can build on it yourselves--hopefully for the better. Here are the breadcrumbs--just follow the trail a bit further if you wish. No hobbled downloads. No misdirection. No posturing about our 'credentials.' No misrepresentations. No strings attached. We point you in the right direction and you're free to expand on it, extend it, use it however it best advances your efforts.
We ask one thing and one thing only--if you employ what we publish, attribute it, before we cite you on it.
We continue to provide honest research into these wonderful Golden Age Radio programs simply because we love to do it. If you feel that we've provided you with useful information or saved you some valuable time regarding this log--and you'd like to help us even further--you can help us keep going. Please consider a small donation here:
We don't pronounce our Golden Age Radio research as 'certified' anything. By the very definition, research is imperfect. We simply tell the truth. As is our continuing practice, we provide our fully provenanced research results--to the extent possible--right here on the page, for any of our peers to review--or refute--as the case may be. If you take issue with any of our findings, you're welcome to cite any better verifiable source(s) and we'll immediately review them and update our findings accordingly. As more verifiable provenances surface, we'll continue to update the following series log, as appropriate.
All rights reserved by their respective sources. Article, log, and independent research results copyright 2011 The Digital Deli Online--all rights reserved. Any failure to attribute the results of this copywritten work will be rigorously pursued.
[Date, title, and episode column annotations in red refer to either details we have yet to fully provenance or other unverifiable information as of this writing. Red highlights in the text of the 'Notes' columns refer to information upon which we relied in citing dates, date or time changes, or titles.]
|
|
|
![Click here to learn about our approach to Golden Age Radio Preservation [Under Development]](Images/images/preservation_base.png "Click here to learn about our approach to Golden Age Radio Preservation [Under Development]")
