DENVER SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AND ASSOCIATION PAPERS

Ranging from 1912 to 1990, the papers chronicle the rise and fall of the Denver Symphony Orchestra. Early papers, before Saul Caston's appointment as conductor in 1945, consist of correspondence, but primarily of performance programs of the Denver Symphony Orchestra. (The collection includes most of these programs.) After the Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA) opened in 1978, the Denver Symphony Orchestra programs were included in Bravo, a publication for all of the arts performed in the Denver Center, until 1984 when the orchestra again produced its own programs.

Correspondence comprises the bulk of the papers of the Denver Symphony Orchestra and Denver Symphony Association. From business manager, Helen Black, through Chris Dunworth correspondence documents exchanges with the public, artists, agents, governmental agencies, foundations, donors, and so on. This includes conductors who resided overseas and communicated much of their business through correspondence. The association's Board of Trustees communicated with the orchestra, the conductor, the office staff and each other by correspondence.

The orchestra created its own public image through press releases and actively interacting with the media. Clipping services collected articles from national and local newspapers for many years. The collection includes many of these public views of the orchestra. Also, reel-to-reel tapes, films and videotapes include radio and television advertising for the orchestra.

The Denver Symphony Orchestra maintained active relationships with other organizations, especially those involved in the music industry. Universities, other organizations such as the American Symphony Orchestra League corresponded with the orchestra and sent newsletters. Throughout the Rocky Mountain Region, support groups met and worked to solicit funds for the orchestra. Groups included the Denver Symphony Guild, the Junior Guild and the Young Men's Organization among others. Papers from these organizations comprise a series in the collection.

This collection documents the operations of the Denver Symphony Orchestra and Association, as well as their public images.

The papers of the Denver Symphony Association comprise this series. Material includes agendas and meeting minutes of the annual meetings of the Denver Symphony Association as well as its many committees. The Board of Trustees of the association was primarily responsible for the Denver Symphony Orchestra. Correspondence between the members of the Board and between the Board and the orchestra's staff is included. Also, the series contains notes, biographies of trustees, consultant or committee reports, and lists of members and newspaper clippings describing events and people of the Association. Annual reports of various support groups such as the Denver Symphony Guild or the Denver Symphony Debs constitute a portion of the papers. The papers are arranged chronologically.

For the early years, the papers in this series consist primarily of the Red Rocks financial papers, with the exception of yearly auditor's reports. After 1964, financial papers became comprehensive, reflecting the budget year-round. Ledgers, charts and reports comprise the budget papers. The "annual campaign" solicited contributions for the orchestra. Campaign papers include correspondence, forms, reports, and manuals for volunteers. Grant documents, whether governmental or private foundation, consist of proposals, reports and correspondence. Material for ticket sales includes box office reports, seasonal reports, correspondence, memos and charts. Budget reports reflect the donations of support groups such as the Denver Symphony Guild, but more detailed information about the budgets of these groups may be found in the Other Organizations Series. The financial records are arranged chronologically.

This series contains papers of the physical and behind-the scenes operations of the orchestra. Labor issues constitute a large portion of these papers. Musicians and stagehands joined unions, which negotiated master contracts. At the same time, individual musicians and stagehands each negotiated personal contracts with the business manager, sometimes having to audition for raises or for hiring. The series contains papers for both situations. The papers documenting the labor dispute in 1980, a season that was temporarily cancelled because of problems, comprise correspondence, memos, and reports that provide an inside look at the bitter negotiations.

Operations material such as leases, correspondence and invoices and receipts detail the physical office spaces throughout the years. Memos contain information on the working conditions for the office staff. Invoices delineate office supplies and equipment. The papers for operations also document the staging of performances. Memos and correspondence cover the costumes, dress for the musicians, travel and tour arrangements, and the acquisition and care of instruments. The performances on stages from the Auditorium Theater to high school auditoriums, from Red Rocks to Boettcher Hall, are documented in the series. Architects' plans, committee meeting minutes, correspondence and memos trace Boettcher Hall from the planning stage through construction to opening night in 1978.

Papers on the advertising for program books are included in operations, distinct from the publicity papers promoting the orchestra itself. Also, documents cover the physical printing of programs, fliers and tickets. The orchestra constantly received correspondence and brochures from agents and prospective artists, as well as resumes and correspondence from people seeking employment in the office. These papers are included in operations. Also, legal papers comprise a portion of this series. For many years, attorneys handled legal work for the orchestra either at cost or on a discounted basis. However, many of the members of the Board of Trustees were lawyers and eventually, they took over legal operations.

Musical arrangements, scores, and licenses comprise a portion of operations. For several years, the orchestra maintained a music library. Lists of music owned by the orchestra and repertoires of individual musicians, as well as of the orchestra are included. The papers of the operations of the Denver Symphony Orchestra are arranged chronologically.

Papers of the Denver Symphony Orchestra's performances consist of seasonal programs and schedules, individual performance programs, contracts with other orchestras and individual artists, and tour schedules and programs. The programs varied from year to year, either covering several months of performances, an individual performance, or an entire season. The orchestra's numerous tours are documented in correspondence and programs that either list the music or contain copious, detailed planning and reviews of the performances.

In this series, correspondence is exchanged with the public about performances, the performing artists, the management, Board of Trustees, and the orchestra's musicians. As much as possible, the papers for an individual performance were organized from the first negotiations through the reviews and follow-up of a performance. The series is arranged chronologically by the date of an individual performance and the dates of a season or a tour. Early papers consist primarily of programs.

This series consists of papers related to publicity for the Denver Symphony Orchestra. In the early years, Helen Black handled publicity for the orchestra, along with managing the Orchestra, staging productions, and scheduling. The series includes primarily those publicity papers of the Red Rocks performances during the 1950s and early 1960s. In the 1960s, a Public Relations Department was formed. It consisted of one staff member at first, then later expanded to a full department with several employees, the number of which varied from year to year. Press releases, newspaper clippings from clippings services, promotional material, and advertising comprise this series, along with correspondence sent and received with the public. Of special note in the collection are the internal memos between the publicity department and other staff members that reveal insiders' views of the Orchestra and its performances.

As well as providing social activities for their members, support groups helped fund the Denver Symphony Orchestra. Papers include meeting minutes, correspondence, reports, brochures and fliers. The Denver Symphony Guild functioned as the main support. This group's papers date from the 1934 to 1990, when it became the Colorado Symphony Guild. Other groups formed off and on throughout the years such as the Young Men's Organization, the Junior Symphony Guild, and the Symphony Debs. Papers from these organizations comprise a portion of the series.

At times, members of the association, the business manager, the conductor, and others belonged to organizations such as the American Symphony Orchestra League, American Federation of Musicians, or the Colorado Council on the Arts and Humanities. The series includes papers from these organizations.

Also, the Denver Symphony Orchestra was actively involved in various musical groups throughout the Rocky Mountain region. For example, Helen Black helped form the Central City Opera Association and this group sometimes performed with the Denver Symphony Orchestra. Other musical organizations sometimes affiliated with the Denver Symphony Orchestra include the Colorado Springs Symphony Orchestra, Denver Lyrical Opera, and Denver Ballet West. Papers from these organizations as well as numerous other groups comprise a portion of this series.

The scrapbooks contain newspaper clippings, articles from magazines, programs, fliers, and schedules of the Denver Symphony Orchestra. Because of the deteriorating quality of the newsprint, it is recommended that the microfilm be used.

This series includes a collection of 78rpm and 33 1/3rpm recordings of Denver Symphony Orchestra, many of which were created for radio broadcasts in the 1950s. Reel-to-reel tapes from the 1970s and 1980s comprise a portion of this series. Numerous tapes contain advertising spots on radio stations. The series also contains demo tapes sent to the orchestra by artists and their agents.

This series includes production-quality videotapes and 16mm films, primarily of the Denver Symphony Orchestra. Of special note is A Secret Life of an Orchestra produced in 1973 by associate conductor Allan Miller, during the same time period that he won an Oscar for a similar documentary produced for the San Francisco Orchestra.

AVBox 143 of this series contains computer magnetic tapes containing the names and addresses of donors to Denver Symphony Orchestra. The tapes are restricted for seventy years due to the personal nature of the information.

The oversize documents include posters, seating charts, plaques and awards. Rotogravures, special money-making advertising supplements to newspapers, comprise part of the series. A few oversize scrapbooks constitute another portion of this series.

The photographs in this series portray individual artists, musical groups, employees of the orchestra and performances. The mostly black-and-white images also include theaters and equipment of the orchestra. Oversize photographs include the Cavallo Orchestra in 1912 and an image of Walter Light, tympanist.

The scrapbooks in this series contain newspaper clippings, magazine articles, programs and other items related to the Denver Symphony Orchestra, its employees, guest performers and concerts. The microfilm copies correlate to the paper copies of the scrapbooks except that the first paper scrapbook is the second scrapbook in the microfilm series.