Portland State University PDXScholar

City Club of Portland Oregon Sustainable Community Digital Library

3-25-1960 Portland Symphony Orchestra

City Club of Portland (Portland, Or.)

Follow this and additional works at: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/oscdl_cityclub

Part of the Urban Studies Commons, and the Urban Studies and Planning Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y

Recommended Citation City Club of Portland (Portland, Or.), "Portland Symphony Orchestra" (1960). City Club of Portland. 191. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/oscdl_cityclub/191

This Report is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in City Club of Portland by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. Please contact us if we can make this document more accessible: [email protected]. PORTLAND CITY CLUB BULLETIN 107

REPORT ON THE PORTLAND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

To THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS, THE CITY CLUB OF PORTLAND ASSIGNMENT Your Committee < i) was originally asked to study the status of the symphony or- chestras in Portland, Oregon, but the problems and complexities of the Portland Sym- phony Orchestra were so fundamental that, with your consent, this report is directed to an analysis of that orchestra alone. (2) The Portland Junior Symphony Orchestra has recently celebrated its 35th anniversary < 3 > and is distinguished as one of the pioneers in its field, and the Portland Chamber Orchestra has achieved recognition both here and abroad. These other orchestras, too, have their serious problems. Their continued existence is made possible by the devotion of their players, the dedicated personnel of their boards, their distinguished conductors, the work and sweat of countless volunteers, and—however much it has to be prodded—the gratitude of the community. The Port- land Symphony is the major orchestra in this area, and its glories and woes are intensi- fied by its size. THE STATUS OF THE ORCHESTRA It is aptly stated in Study of Legal Documents of Symphony Orchestraso) that: "At first, a symphony orchestra, like any other group of persons engaged in a common activity, is merely an aggregation of separate people, but, in time, under the influence of a competent conductor, and with the benefit of repeated rehearsals and performances, it acquires a quality, a personality and identity of its own, which is real to its members and is felt by the listening public." History If one were asked "What are Portland's greatest cultural assets?", the answer would probably be: its Public Library, Art Museum, and Symphony Orchestra (aside from its colleges). As , past conductor of the Portland Symphony has said(e >: l.The Committee consists of Ben L. Bernhard, proprietor, Helen Bernhard Bakery; Jerome S. Bischoff, attorney; Dean Janney, CPA, and Philip A. Joss, attorney, Chairman. Former Com- mittee members who assisted in the earlier stages of the research were: Eugene Caldwell, then Executive Vice President, Hyster Company, former President, City Club of Portland and formerly a Director, Portland Symphony Society; Dr. Anthony A. Pearson, Professor of Anatomy, Uni- versity of Oregon Medical School; Edward F. Ritz, National Bank; Ed H. Snyder, public relations, and J. Warrington Stokes, then Administrator, Multnomah County Public Wel- fare Commission. 2. Witnesses interviewed by your Committee included the following: Portland Symphony Society: James F. Miller, Mrs. Ralph D. Moores and Lawrence C. Shaw, former presidents; Frederic Rothchild and Aubrey R. Watzek, former Board members; Dr. James S. Hart and Phil Hart, former managers; Henry M. Norton, present manager; Theodore Bloomfield, former con- ductor; Abe Bercovitz, principal, second violin section, Portland Symphony Orchestra, and Mrs. Archie R. Tunturi, former Associate Board member. Portland Junior Symphony Orchestra As- sociation: L. R. Hussa and Moe M. Tonko