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Show ROY ELLSWORTH HARRIS A native of Oklahoma, and reared on a farm in California, Roy Harris has been described as the most American of composers. He joins in this appellation in conceiving himself as a native expression of his culture and of his epoch. This is evident in the verbal formulations of his artistic credo as well as in the selection of American folklore and the "spirit of great historical events" as ingredients of many of his creative works. To preserve aesthetic continuity with the musical past, however, he frequently utilizes the classic contrapuntal forms in which he encapsulates his nationalistic expression. Harris is one of the fortunate American composers whose career was launched and fostered by the late Serge Koussevitzky and the Boston Orchestra. Ever since his First Symphony was accorded its premiere, January 26, 1934, Harris was a beneficiary of the progressive American sympathies of the Russian conductor, who performed as "first time" five of the first six symphonies. Of the 118 works, which include practically all the conventional musical forms, the Third Symphony has had the most sensational career since its inception in Boston, February 24, 1939. According to Gilbert Chase, a historian of American music, "it marks the beginning of a new era in American symphonic music." On the occasion of one of its most recent renditions by the New York Philharmonic Symphony, under the baton of Leonard Bernstein, the program annotator observed that the Third Symphony "has accumulated more performances in its history than any other symphony produced in this country." His works have enjoyed world-wide performances including the musical centers behind the Iron Curtain. Mr. Harris has not only been exceedingly prolific as a composer, but has also been active as author and lecturer in implementing his American creed. He has been awarded honorary degrees by Rutgers University (1941), the University of Rochester (1946) and the Philadelphia Academy of Music (1956); and has also been the recipient of innumerable other distinctions in the form of citations, awards and commissions. PROGRAM MUSIC, MUSICIANS AND MEASUREMENTS February 24 MUSIC AS AN INDEPENDENT ART: The Nature and Function of Music. Conditions Favorable to Music. Current Conditions in America. February 26 THE COMPOSER:As an Individual. As a Member of Society. The Composer in America. March 5 THE INTERPRETIVE MUSICIAN: As an Individual. As Member of Society. The Interpretive Musician in America. March 12 THE AUDIENCE: Responses and Influences. Forces that Determine Audiences. Determining Forces in American Audiences. March 19 THE MODERN ADMINISTRATOR: CULTURAL. The Church. The State. Education. COMMERCIAL. Publishers. Managers. Mass Media Controls. March 26 THE LIVING PRACTICE: Uses and Styles. Twentieth Century Trends. American Developments. March 31 WHAT WILL AMERICA DO?: World Relationships. Natural Economic and Cultural Developments. Our Native Music. |