Culture and Finance: The Path to American Orchestral Permanency, 1840--1900

In the years between 1840-1900, professional orchestras in the United States experienced a tremendous period of growth and development that formed the sustainable foundations of the orchestral tradition that we know today. This evolution was due in part to a broad range of cultural and economic trends that were taking place in American society at large. From a cultural perspective, the evolution of American orchestral activity was stimulated by an influx of musical European immigrants after 1848 who, through the process of assimilation, participated in the expansion of music industries, performance infrastructure, festival organizations, and civic music societies. These developments not only facilitated opportunities for orchestral performance, they also contributed to the process of bringing European orchestral music into the American mainstream.;The purpose of this study is to trace the development of professional symphonic organizations during this period by examining the demographic, structural, and organizational developments that contributed to long-term orchestral sustainability and permanency. Specifically, this study examines a number of critical issues related to orchestral development, including the migration and settlement of immigrant musicians, particularly those of Germanic descent; the expansion of performance infrastructure; multiple emerging approaches to community outreach; early models of orchestral organization; and specific organizational and financial innovations that contributed to the attainment of orchestral permanency.;The methodology used in this study synthesizes recent research in nineteenth-century orchestral administrative and financial models with previous existing demographic studies, biographical data, and historical accounts. The intent of this analysis is to provide a multifaceted narrative of the material, human, and creative forces that allowed the American professional symphony orchestra to evolve from its infancy, to a position of sustainable permanent cultural influence.