The Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra was the only symphonic orchestral ensemble ever created under the supervision of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. Founded by the composer Samuel Adler, its members participated in the

cultural diplomacy Cultural diplomacy is a type of soft power that includes the "exchange of ideas, information, art, language and other aspects of culture among nations and their peoples in order to foster mutual understanding". The purpose of cultural diplomac ...

initiatives of the United States in an effort to demonstrate the shared cultural heritage of the United States, its European allies and the vanquished countries of Europe during the post

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

era.

History

The Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra was established as part of the

Seventh United States Army The Seventh Army was a United States army created during World War II that evolved into the United States Army Europe (USAREUR) during the 1950s and 1960s. It served in North Africa and Italy in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations and Fra ...

based in Stuttgart, Germany in 1952. It was founded by the young conductor Samuel Adler who also served as its first principal conductor while stationed as a Corporal in the 2nd Armored Division during the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

. The orchestra's membership consisted of professionally educated musicians who were also enlisted within the Army during the 1950s and early 1960s. During the course of a decade, the orchestra concertized extensively throughout the ruins of war-torn Europe as part of the

initiatives of the United States in the aftermath of World War II. In addition to bolstering the morale of America's enlisted troops, the orchestra was established in order to demonstrate the shared cultural values and musical heritage which united the citizens of America with their counterparts throughout Europe. The orchestra's performances were well received by audiences and included tours within West Germany, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy and the United Kingdom from 1952 until 1962. Under Samuel Adler's musical direction, the orchestra incorporated a repertoire consisting of selections from the major symphonic repertoire of

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

including works by

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

and

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period (music), Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, oft ...

. In later years, it also sought to share America's musical heritage with European audiences by showcasing the talents of leading American composers including: Roy Harris,

Leroy Anderson Leroy Anderson ( ; June 29, 1908 – May 18, 1975) was an American composer of short, Light music, light concert pieces, many of which were introduced by the Boston Pops Orchestra under the direction of Arthur Fiedler. John Williams descri ...

and Morton Gould. These concerts proved to be quite popular among civilians and military personnel alike. General

Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

even praised the orchestra as the "greatest thing for American-German relations" since the end of World War II. While serving as the United States High Commissioner to Germany on the

Allied High Commission The Allied High Commission (also known as the High Commission for Occupied Germany, HICOG; in German ''Alliierte Hohe Kommission'', ''AHK'') was established by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France after the 1948 breakdown of the Alli ...

James B. Conant James Bryant Conant (March 26, 1893 – February 11, 1978) was an American chemist, a transformative President of Harvard University, and the first United States Ambassador to West Germany, U.S. Ambassador to West Germany. Conant obtained a ...

also praised the orchestra for promoting cultural understanding between the German and American people. Adler received a special Citation of Excellence from the Army for forming the 7th Army Symphony Orchestra and its success in Europe between 1952 and 1961. Over the years, members of the orchestra participated in several historic performances. During the orchestra's inaugural concert on July 5, 1952, in Heidelberg, members of the orchestra performed during the farewell festivities for

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

's Supreme Allied Commander General

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

. In December 1955 they served as the first American orchestra to participate in a live radio broadcast on German radio under the baton of Ronald Ondrejka. Several years later in 1957, they debuted on the German television network in Berlin under the direction of Ling Tung and participated in the program "Week of Light Music" which was broadcast on South German Radio to Europe and the United States. In 1958, the orchestra also concertized at the

Brussels World's Fair Expo 58, also known as the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (; ), was a world's fair held on the Heysel Plateau, Heysel/Heizel Plateau in Brussels, Belgium, from 17 April to 19 October 1958. It was the first major world's fair registered under the Bu ...

under the direction of Edward Lee Alley. As the reconstruction of Europe advanced during the 1950s, performances by the orchestra were no longer deemed to be necessary. Recruitment within the Army for the orchestra was curtailed after 1962.

Radio broadcasts

In addition to providing concerts for audiences throughout Europe, the Seventh Army Orchestra also concertized over the radio. Performances by the orchestra were shared with all members of the United States armed forces over the Armed Forces Radio Service.

Conductors

Over the years, various noted musicians conducted the Seventh Army Orchestra including:''Seventh Army Symphony Members'' – Orchestra membership list on 7aso.org
/ref> *1952–1953 Samuel Adler *1953–1954 James Dixon, Andrew Heath *1953–1955 Kenneth Schermerhorn *1954–1956 Ronald Ondrejka *1955–1956 Henry Lewis *1956–1958 Ling Tung *1957–1959 Nico Snel *1958–1960 Edward Lee Alley, Howard Wassermann – Assistant Conductor *1959–1960

John Ferritto John E. Ferritto (January 20, 1937 – January 7, 2010) was an American composer, conductor, and music professor. He graduated with honors in piano and violin performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music, and also holds a M.M. in composit ...

, John Canarina *1960–1961 Arthur Shettle, Ralph Lane *1960–1962 Reid Bunger *1961–1962 Thomas Lewis, John Covelli

Notable members

Bob McGrath Robert Emmett McGrath (June 13, 1932 – December 4, 2022) was an American actor, singer, and children's author best known for playing original human character and music teacher Bob Johnson on the educational television series ''Sesame Street' ...

* Jim Hughart * Ben Patterson, double bassist *

Doug Sax Doug Sax (April 26, 1936 – April 2, 2015) was an American mastering engineer from Los Angeles, California. He mastered three The Doors' albums, including their 1967 debut; six Pink Floyd's albums, including '' The Wall''; Ray Charles' multiple ...

, trumpet *

Don Ellis Donald Johnson Ellis (July 25, 1934 – December 17, 1978) was an American jazz trumpeter, drummer, composer, and bandleader. He is best known for his extensive musical experimentation, particularly in the area of time signatures. Later in his ...

, trumpet

References

External links