of University California Berkeley Regional Oral History Office University of California The Bancroft Library Berkeley, California University History Series Betty Connors THE COMMITTEE FOR ARTS AND LECTURES, 1945-1980: THE CONNORS YEARS With an Introduction by Ruth Felt Interviews Conducted by Marilynn Rowland in 1998 Copyright 2000 by The Regents of the University of California Since 1954 the Regional Oral History Office has been interviewing leading participants in or well-placed witnesses to major events in the development of northern California, the West, and the nation. Oral history is a method of collecting historical information through tape-recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well- informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. The tape recording is transcribed, lightly edited for continuity and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewee. The corrected manuscript is indexed, bound with photographs and illustrative materials, and placed in The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, and in other research collections for scholarly use. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account, offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is reflective, partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ************************************ All uses of this manuscript are covered by a legal agreement between The Regents of the University of California and Betty Connors dated January 28, 2001. The manuscript is thereby made available for research purposes. All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. No part of the manuscript may be quoted for publication without the written permission of the Director of The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. Requests for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to the Regional Oral History Office, 486 Bancroft Library, Mail Code 6000, University of California, Berkeley 94720-6000, and should include identification of the specific passages to be quoted, anticipated use of the passages, and identification of the user. The legal agreement with Betty Connors requires that she be notified of the request and allowed thirty days in which to respond. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Betty Connors, "The Committee for Arts and Lectures, 1945-1980: The Connors Years," an oral history conducted in 1998 by Marilynn Rowland, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 2000. Copy no. Betty Connors, Marilynn Rowland, and Willa Baum photographed at the Women s Faculty Club, 1998. Cataloguing information Betty Connors (b. 1917) Arts administrator The Committee for Arts and Lectures. 1945-1980; The Connors Years. 2001, vi, 265 pp. Early years and family in the Midwest, exposure to music, University of Iowa, and move to Berkeley; early years of the Committee for Arts and Lectures (CAL) : first chairmen, committee members, performance locations; discusses William Popper, Baldwin Woods, Albert Elkus, Donald Coney, Travis Bogard; operas in the Greek Theater, Kurt Herbert Adler; choosing the artists, working with artists managers, Western Alliance, Intercampus Cultural Exchange; new performance spaces, dedication concerts at Zellerbach Hall, Hertz Hall; reminiscences of the Jeffrey Ballet, Juilliard Quartet, Lotte Lehman, Sol Hurok, Jacques Barzun, Griller Quartet, Myra Hess, Ernst Bloch, Ravi Shankar, Alvin Ailey, Beaux Arts Trio, Rostropovich, others; expanded committee, jazz performances, San Francisco Symphony; management issues: programs, ushers, qualities of arts managers, critics, performers needs. Appended listing of CAL members; songs, poems and letters by Travis Bogard and Betty Connors; awards and honors to Connors . Introduction by Ruth Felt, President, San Francisco Performances. Interviewed by Marilynn Rowland for the University History Series. Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. TABLE OF CONTENTS- -Betty Connors INTRODUCTION by Ruth Felt i INTERVIEW HISTORY by Marilynn Rowland iii BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION vi I PERSONAL BACKGROUND, AND THE BEGINNINGS OF THE COMMITTEE FOR ARTS AND LECTURES 1 From the Midwest to California 1 Early Musical Experiences at Cal 2 The Beginnings of the Committee (1945) 2 The First Committee 3 Half Hours of Music in the Greek 4 Early Business 5 First Performers 6 The Various Performance Locations 8 San Francisco Symphony in Harmon Gym 10 Louis Armstrong 11 Travis Bogard Proposes Adding Dance 12 Early Years and Family in the Midwest 13 Betty s Parents 13 Music in the Home and Community 14 The Switch to Viola 16 Being Drum Major 17 University of Iowa 18 Getting Married to Joe and Moving to Berkeley 19 First Jobs, Bad Weather, and Getting Started at Cal 20 Concerts and Cookies 22 Albert Elkus 23 II COMMITTEE FOR ARTS AND LECTURES DEVELOPS, 1947 25 Beginnings and First Chairman 25 William Popper 26 Baldwin Woods 28 Drama, Lectures and Music Committee Members 29 Working with Donald Coney 32 The McEnerney Fund, 1957 35 Operas in the Greek Theatre 36 Kurt Herbert Adler and Costume Madness 38 The Committee Begins to Have Subcommittees 41 Using the Power House 42 Different Office Locations, Adding Staff 43 More on Travis Bogard 46 The Workings of the Early Committee for Arts and Lectures 47 Choosing the Artists 48 The Juilliard Quartet 49 The Role of "Secretary" 51 The Loyalty Oath and the McCarthy Era 53 Working with Artists Managers 55 The Ballet Trockadero 60 National Alliances of Concert Masters 61 Western Alliance 63 Sol Hurok 65 Intercampus Cultural Exchange 67 A "Happening" 70 The Sixties 72 Le Treteau de Paris 74 More on Travis Bogard 75 Jean Louis Barrault and Madeleine Renaud 78 The O Neill Foundation 79 The Beginning of the Dance Department at Berkeley 80 CAL Songs 81 Zellerbach and Hertz Halls 82 The Excellence of Zellerbach for Dance 86 Early Admission Prices 88 A Choice Place to Perform in the Bay Area 89 III REMINISCENCES 91 The Jeffrey Ballet in Residence 91 Jean Louis Barrault 92 Preservation Hall Jazz 92 Troubles with Presenting Contemporary Music 94 "Ik" by the Peter Brooks Theatre, Paris 95 Hamlet, Panic, Cricket and Hamburgers 96 Singing with Myrna Loy 98 Lotte Lehmann 98 Thomas Mann, Eleanor Roosevelt, Dylan Thomas 100 Ten Pounds of Potatoes for Eiko and Koma 101 American Ballet Theater and Baryshnikov 102 The Dedication Concerts for the Opening of Zellerbach Hall 103 Ralph Kirkpatrick 106 A Tiff with Rudolph Nureyev 107 Back to Kirkpatrick 108 Pro Musica from Holland 109 Jacques Barzun 110 Alma Trio 111 Paganini Quartet 113 The Griller Quartet in Residence 114 Myra Hess 118 Good Food by the Griller Quartet 118 Folk Music 120 Taking Note of Audience Complaints 122 Michael Senturia 122 Ernst Bloch 123 Gunnar Johannesen 124 Leadbelly Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan 127 Mantle Hood and the Gamelan Performances 129 School Performances for Alvin Ailey 133 Multiple Piano Concerts and Early Artist Brochures 135 Menachem Pressler and the Beaux Arts Trio 136 Page Turners Nightmares 137 Bomb Scares 139 The Programs 140 The Problem with Ushers 142 On Being a Good Manager 142 IV COMMITTEE FOR ARTS AND LECTURES EXPANDS 145 Jazz with Brubeck, Previn, and Others 145 Greg Perloff and Big Concerts in the Greek Theatre 147 San Francisco Symphony on Campus 149 Isaac Stern, and Getting to the Airport 151 Lili Kraus 152 A Charlatan 155 The "Blue Sheets" and the Growth of the CAL Program 156 Aaron Copland 158 Thomas Mann 158 Poets on the Program 158 The McEnerney Lecture Series 160 Zellerbach and CAL, Dance Company Favorites 161 Albert Johnson and Films 163 Some Reflections on Managing CAL 164 Glenn Gould 170 David Oistrach 171 Sviatoslav Richter 172 Arturo Michelangeli 173 Rostropovich and the Cello Club 175 Taking Care of Performers Needs 175 Cal Night at the Opera 178 Change in Focus from Student to Community 179 Composers Forum 180 A Few More European Performers 180 Advice to Young People Considering a Career in Arts Administration 181 Fundraising 182 V FINAL THOUGHTS 186 Reflections on Early Expectations 186 Qualities Needed to Be an Arts Manager 187 Giving the Faculty Credit for the Success of CAL 188 Life in the Top Job 189 Dealing with the Critics 191 In Retrospect, Doing Things Differently 193 A Few More Reflections on Travis Bogard 194 Unwinding after Retiring 196 The Prophetic Aspect of the Oral History 198 AFTERWORD BY BETTY CONNORS 200 TAPE GUIDE 201 APPENDIX A Members of the Committee for Arts and Lectures, 1906-1980 202 B Songs, poems and letters by Travis Bogard and Betty Connors 1 "The Montecito Tango," by Travis Bogard for the "Retired and/or Recycled Arts Administrator," annual meeting at Peg Armstrong s in Santa Barbara 205 2 "Paper of Pins," by Bogard for meeting above 206 3 Memo by Bogard following Actors Workshop performance of "Waiting for Godot" (1957) 207 4 Poem by Bogard following a piano recital by Stephen Hough 208 5 Note given to Connors by Bogard at her retirement party, December 1979, as she accepted congratulations from Chancellor Albert Bowker 209 6 Song by Connors to Bogard when he was in Greece at the Pan Hellenic Festival, 1966 210 7 Poem by Connors upon return from trip to Germany with husband Joe Connors 211 8 Memo from Donald Coney to Connors suggesting logo for CAL 9 Poem by Bogard after seeing a typo in a CAL program note 213 10 Memorabilia from Western Alliance, including photograph, letters, and songs by Connors 214 11 Added notes by Connors 222 C Awards and Honors 1 Article from the Independent and Gazette, Jan.