North Carolina Symphony recordings, 1951-1973 | WorldCat.org (original) (raw)

Summary:The North Carolina Symphony was formed in 1932 under the direction of Pulitzer Traveling Fellow, Lamar Stringfield. The Symphony was a Works Progress Administration project in the 1930s; in the 1940s, it was the first orchestra to receive state funding on a continuous basis. Benjamin Swalin and Maxine Swalin led the Symphony from 1939 to 1972. They promoted the idea of taking the orchestra out to all parts of the state, a tradition that began in 1943 when the North Carolina State Legislature passed what was referred to as the "Horn Tootin' Bill." As of 2009, the Symphony plays over 175 concerts in 30 to 40 counties in North Carolina per year. The collection consists of audiotapes, primarily of performances of the North Carolina Symphony in various locations across the state of North Carolina. Included are many children's concerts that have children singing with the Symphony and a few concerts with high school choirs singing with the Symphony. Also included are clips from radio advertisements for the North Carolina Symphony; recorded talks given by Benjamin Swalin; music from a film about the North Carolina Symphony entitled A Symphony in Jeopardy; and related documentation found with select recordings. The Addition of January 2010 consists of 7 audiotapes with miscellaneous recordings of the North Carolina Symphony and a folder with information about tape recordings of the Symphony made during the 1950s. The Addition of October 2011 consists of a recording of a rehearsal of "North State" by Hunter Johnson