The Federal Music Project by Lawrence Rogers https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q Sponsored by the Works Project Administration, supporting the arts, and it's legacies today. en-us 2020-06-25 17:35:34 UTC 2023-06-04 05:13:37 UTC hello@padlet.com -What is the Federal Music Project? lawrencerogers85 https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640250169 The Federal Music Project was part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA).  The WPA was formed in 1935 and replaced the earlier programs of the New Deal such as the Civil Works Administration (CWA) and the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA). Over the course of it’s existence from 1935-1943, the WPA spent over 11 billion dollars (in 1930’s currency) and helped employ over 3 million people.  The WPA was responsible for employing people from all walks of life.  It employed people ranging from construction workers, to nurses, clerical workers, and artists.   ]]> 2020-06-25 17:36:13 UTC https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640250169 lawrencerogers85 https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640250300 The WPA also included a section called Federal One, which was another works relief program for music, fine arts, theater, and writing. The WPA sought to establish one agency for musicians which became the Federal Music Project (FMP).  Among the four branches of the arts the WPA created, the Federal Music Project was the most expansive.  ]]> 2020-06-25 17:36:21 UTC https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640250300 It created all the following: lawrencerogers85 https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640250924 Symphony and concert orchestras

Dance Orchestras

Bands

Chamber Music Ensembles

Vocal Quartets and Ensembles

Instrumental and Vocal Soloists

Grand Opera, Operetta, Opera Comique, and chamber Opera

Music Education services

Employment and use of Music Librarians, Copyists, Binders, Piano Tuners, and Instrument Repair

Composers Forum Laboratory

]]> 2020-06-25 17:37:08 UTC https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640250924 lawrencerogers85 https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640251460 2020-06-25 17:37:41 UTC https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640251460 -Why was the Federal Music Project created? lawrencerogers85 https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640270403 2020-06-25 17:57:28 UTC https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640270403 lawrencerogers85 https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640270707 The main goal of the Federal Music Project was to create jobs for many of the musicians that had fallen on hard times as a result of the Depression and to lift American’s spirits up during a time of joblessness and insecurity (Johnson, 1997).  According to Oxford Music Online, the FMP “focused on the employment of musicians as performers in orchestras, concert and dance bands, chamber music and choral ensembles, and opera companies. 

Statistics for the period January 1936 to April 1940 show 250,000 performances reaching an audience of 159 million. At its peak in 1936, the project employed over 15,000 people in 42 states and the District of Columbia.”  At the time, the WPA spent roughly 1 billion dollars in 1930’s currency in order to support the arts (Kang, 2011).  ]]> 2020-06-25 17:57:48 UTC https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640270707 lawrencerogers85 https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640270939 Another reason so many musicians found themselves out of work according to Kang, was that many of the movie theaters in the 1930’s were converting from the silent movie format, which employed orchestras or smaller groups of musicians like an organist, to provide the music to the silent movie.  With the conversion to the ‘talkie’ format during this time, it left many musicians without a job.

]]> 2020-06-25 17:58:03 UTC https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640270939 -What purpose did the Federal Music Project serve? lawrencerogers85 https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640271181 The FMP and WPA created many symphony orchestras throughout the US during it’s time which served several purposes:  It allowed for struggling professional musicians to be employed.  It allowed for mediocre musicians to be able to play alongside professionals, thus strengthening their own skills and helping out fellow musicians. And it allowed for music to be accessible to parts of the country that did not have access to live performance music.]]> 2020-06-25 17:58:20 UTC https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640271181 lawrencerogers85 https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640272563 According to Kang, in just New York (a larger metropolitan area), the Federal Music Project created and organized the following:

Federal Symphony Orchestra of New York
Federal Music Project Chamber Orchestra
New York Civic Orchestra
The Greenwich Orchestra
Grand Opera and Opera Chorus
Chamber Opera
The Madrigal Singers
The Negro Melody Singers
Composers’ Forum Laboratory
Lecture Recital Courses (such as “Evolution into Contemporary Music”)
Illustrated Explanatory Lectures (on music played by symphony orchestras)
Amateur Chamber Groups, Orchestras, and Choruses
Recital Bureau of concert artists to perform at welfare agencies
Group Lessons  

]]> 2020-06-25 17:59:51 UTC https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640272563 lawrencerogers85 https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640273854 Also, in smaller metropolitan areas like Glendale, California, the FMP would have still created some of the following which also had groups that fit the musical styles and tastes of that region: 

Concert Orchestra
Mexican Tipica Orchestra
Military Band
Banjo Ensemble
Hawaiian or South Seas Group
Modern Dance Band
Modern “Hot” Dance Band
Dance Band in San Fernando
Choral Unit

]]> 2020-06-25 18:01:09 UTC https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640273854 lawrencerogers85 https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640274815 While many cities like Chicago, Detroit, Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Cleveland and Pittsburg all had major symphony orchestras at the time, the WPA and FMP supplemented those larger metropolitan areas with FMP sponsored orchestras in other regional areas near those major cities.

Some of the orchestras that were created by the Federal Music Project or cities that gained an additional orchestra were…

Civic Symphony Orchestra (Philadelphia) 
Illinois Symphony Orchestra (which many ISU faculty members have performed in)
Albany, NY
Bridgeport, CT
Grand Rapids, MI
Providence, RI
San Bernardino, CA
Kansas City, MO (WPA Concert Orchestra)

]]> 2020-06-25 18:02:22 UTC https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640274815 The Federal Music Project also was responsible for: lawrencerogers85 https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640275962 Composers' Forum Laboratories: presented concerts by living composers with those composers present at the concert to discuss their ideas and answer questions about their music (Pettis, 1940).  Composers like Aaron Copland, Roy Harris, and choral composer Johanna Beyer participated in these endeavors.
   
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAsy-sm293I]]> 2020-06-25 18:03:22 UTC https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640275962 lawrencerogers85 https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640276628 Music Education Programs: (many students would travel miles before sunrise in order to get their music lesson in before the daily chores started, or would attend ‘night classes’).  This also was a way for the FMP to tell these stories of hardworking Americans desiring a music education, which would help continue to garner support from the lawmakers in Washington D.C. 

The WPA and the FMP worked closely with the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), which was a fairly powerful organization during the 1930's timeframe, in order to continue supporting musicians and educators (Finney, 1939).

]]> 2020-06-25 18:04:08 UTC https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640276628 lawrencerogers85 https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640276777 Radio Broadcasts:  This was a way for the FMP to reach all across America and to bring some enjoyment into the lives of hardworking Americans.  They also reached many people from different socio-economic classes.  During these radio broadcasts, the WPA would also use propaganda to continue to seek support for the FMP program. 

Here is a clip of the Composers Forum Laboratory Broadcast No. 20, skip to the 8:32 mark to hear the propaganda from the WPA to help get support: http://www.wnyc.org/story/composers-forum-laboratory-program-no-20/ ]]> 2020-06-25 18:04:18 UTC https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640276777 The Federal Music Project was also responsible for creating: lawrencerogers85 https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640277108 Music Festivals

Collecting and recording American Folk Music

Various Music copying services

]]> 2020-06-25 18:04:33 UTC https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640277108 -What are the remnants of the Federal Music Project today and what modern day organizations can be traced back to the FMP and WPA? lawrencerogers85 https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640279820 2020-06-25 18:07:35 UTC https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640279820 lawrencerogers85 https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640280230 Some of the orchestras Kang mentions that still exist in one form or another today, but were founded during the time of the WPA, FMP, or earlier New Deal programs include:

The Greater Bridgeport Symphony (founded in 1936 as a WPA orchestra)
Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra formed in 1935 (formerly the Buffalo Symphony as a CWA orchestra in 1934)
Utah State Symphony Orchestra (now the Utah Symphony)
Illinois Symphony Orchestra
The Albany Symphony
The Grand Rapids Symphony
The Rhode Island Philharmonic (personal communication with the box office, June 25, 2020) which was formed in 1945 but perhaps formerly the community orchestra in Providence, RI during the WPA era according to the box office!)
San Bernadino Symphony Orchestra

]]> 2020-06-25 18:08:00 UTC https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640280230 lawrencerogers85 https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640280644 Some of the other links to the past include: the public concerts that the WPA would put together, especially the young peoples concerts and Composers Forum Laboratory where the audience could ask composers questions.  While this is not in the same exact format, I believe that Leonard Bernstein continued on the tradition of these types of concerts with his “Young Peoples Concert Series”, which embodies the spirit of engaging and getting people interested in music that they may normally not have access to. According to his official website, Bernstein led a total of 53 Young People's Concerts.  Michael Tilson Thomas of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra was also a colleague and knew Leonard Bernstein.  So it comes as no surprise that the SFSO has hosted many similar concerts and in similar formats to the ones Bernstein would host.  While Bernstein would have these concerts broadcast to the nation on network television, Michal Tilson Thomas has utilized PBS to sponsor many concerts and series, most notably the “Keeping Score” docuseries. ]]> 2020-06-25 18:08:30 UTC https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640280644 lawrencerogers85 https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640280849 We also see some organizations that had ties to the WPA and FMP today.  The Music Educators National Conference (MENC) was an organization that would support the initiatives of the WPA and work with them on promoting the arts.  Now, MENC is known as the National Association for Music Education.

]]> 2020-06-25 18:08:46 UTC https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640280849 lawrencerogers85 https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640281025  Also, consider some patronage ties to the WPA and FMP that we still see today.  Keeping in mind that the Federal Music Project and WPA was created to provide work relief to people struggling during hard economic times, modern day patronage can be seen doing the same thing for even major Symphony Orchestras.  With the COVID-19 pandemic having far reaching effects into the music and arts community, many of these symphony orchestras are facing a tough economic time ahead while still trying to employ musicians and office staff.  One of the ways they are circumventing some of this lost revenue is turning to their patrons for relief.  The Detroit Symphony Orchestra has created what they call the “Resilience Fund” which is a one time program that is supported by patrons and will help the DSO keep people employed throughout the pandemic.

Many of the orchestras still operating today from the WPA era, also continue to rely on patronage funding to operate their organizations.  On each of their websites you can find ways to donate or help support the organization.

]]> 2020-06-25 18:08:57 UTC https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640281025 lawrencerogers85 https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640286501 Also, according to the League of American Orchestras, they have been seeking federal assistance for relief during the pandemic, here is information from their website: 

“Community by community, the impact of COVID-19 is variable and rapidly changing. The League of American Orchestras has been a leading voice as orchestras join advocates in the arts and nonprofit sectors nationwide seeking federal relief that will protect their substantial workforce and safeguard their essential service to communities in the wake of unprecedented closures and event cancellations. Forms of federal disaster relief that have traditionally been more limited are now expanded to offer opportunities for the nonprofit sector and workers in the gig economy, like many self-employed musicians, to find support amidst the COVID-19 crisis. The League provides the following resource page to help orchestras keep informed.”

]]> 2020-06-25 18:14:17 UTC https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640286501 Conclusion: lawrencerogers85 https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640286738 In conclusion, the Works Progress Administration and Federal Music Project were formed by the government in order to provide work relief for many Americans, including musicians.  The government recognized the importance to have competent and knowledgeable individuals in charge of the Federal Music Project, employing accomplished music directors like Nikolai Sokoloff.  Many orchestral organizations were formed as part of the FMP and still exist today in some form, while music education was also highly supported and the government agencies worked closely with music professionals and national music organizations to create this successful public works program.  While the WPA and FMP do not exist today, their far-reaching remnants can still be seen in communities where these orchestras still operate, and in other forms such as young peoples concerts and organization support for music education through NAfME.

]]> 2020-06-25 18:14:32 UTC https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640286738 Sources lawrencerogers85 https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640289430 Finney, T. (1939). THE WPA FEDERAL MUSIC PROJECT DISCUSSION AT WASHINGTON. Bulletin of the Music Teachers National Association, 4(1), 28-31. Retrieved June 25, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/43526983

Johnson, W. (1997). The History Teacher, 30(4), 509-510. doi:10.2307/494151

League of American Orchestras. (2020). Retreived from https://www.americanorchestras.org/advocacy-government/disaster-relief-for-nonprofits/coronavirus.html#federalassistance

NAfME History and Leadership. (2020). Retrieved from https://nafme.org/about/#:~:text=History%20of%20Our%20Name,National%20Association%20for%20Music%20Education.

Pettis, A. (1940). The WPA and the American Composer. The Musical Quarterly, 26(1), 101-112. Retrieved June 25, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/739004

Resilience Fund. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.dso.org/support-and-volunteer/resilience-fund

Young People's Concerts. (n.d.).  Retrieved from https://leonardbernstein.com/about/educator/young-peoples-concerts

YouYoung Kang: "The WPA Federal Music Project and Its Enduring Legacies"  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWv1XKAla0Q

Voloshin, Metro. (2001, January 20).  Works Progress Administration, Federal Music Project of the WPA.  Retrieved June 24, 2020 at https://www-oxfordmusiconline-com.libproxy.lib.ilstu.edu/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000030574?rskey=QRTGMJ

WNYC New York Public Radio website; Works Progress Administration: Federal Music Project https://www.wnyc.org/series/works-progress-administration/about

]]> 2020-06-25 18:17:17 UTC https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640289430 lawrencerogers85 https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640344894 2020-06-25 19:18:47 UTC https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640344894 lawrencerogers85 https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640346169 2020-06-25 19:20:23 UTC https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640346169 lawrencerogers85 https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640347024 2020-06-25 19:21:25 UTC https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640347024 lawrencerogers85 https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640348913 2020-06-25 19:24:01 UTC https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640348913 lawrencerogers85 https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640352388 2020-06-25 19:28:20 UTC https://padlet.com/lawrencerogers85/nizg6oezd99hz35q/wish/640352388