Hall of Fame 1985

by James Robbins There was a fine house band at the Savoy Ballroom during the 1930s. They weren’t widely known in the first half of the decade, but in 1935, after their leader discovered and hired the loser of an amateur singing contest (her name was Ella Fitzgerald), their fortunes began to change. 1 In…

by Frederick D. Fairchild Lou Harrison is one of our most influential percussion composers and innovators. His career has included work as a composer, performer, teacher, musical theorist, ethnomusicologist, conductor, instrument maker, poet, calligrapher, critic, polemicist, dancer, puppeteer and playwright. Harrison received his earliest training in piano and dance, later taking up composition, and finally…