Full Description
From its beginnings during the Great Depression, the North Carolina Symphony has touched the lives of countless Tar Heels. One of the state's premier cultural organizations and the oldest continuously state-supported orchestra in the nation, the "Suitcase Symphony" grew from a small group of volunteer players to the world-class orchestra it is today.
This book details the contributions of founder Lamar Stringfield, longtime conductor Benjamin Swalin and his wife, Maxine, current music director Grant Llewellyn, and other leaders of this iconic institution. The authors place the symphony's story for the first time in the context of North Carolina's cultural history and, in the process, reveal much about the musical traditions of the "Sahara of the Bozart" and about the trials and triumphs of maintaining a state symphony orchestra.
Contents
Table of Contents
Foreword by Roy C. Dicks
Preface
Introduction
1 Classical Music from "Poor Carolina" to "The Sahara of the Bozart"
2 Lamar Stringfield, the New Deal, and the Founding of the Orchestra
3 The Swalins and the Orchestra's Renaissance
4 On the Road with the "Suitcase Symphony"
5 A New Image
6 Rancor and Recovery
7 In the Limelight
Chapter Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index
