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MCCA – The Beginning
On January 5, 1950, the Modesto
Community Concert Association was organized to meet the demand for more cultural entertainment in the Modesto area. The concerts
were operated under the Community Concert Service Division of Columbia Concerts, Inc.
The first membership campaign
was held over a one-week period, beginning February 27th and ending March 4th, 1950. In six days over 1,300 subscriptions
were sold and the membership drive was closed. Columbia Artists Management was contacted and four concerts were arranged for
the first season.
The first concert was the Revelers Male Quartet on February 8, 1951. Completing the first season
were concerts by Rudolph Firkusney, pianist; Tossy Spivakovsky, violinist; and Nadine Conner, soprano. Each season, at least
three and up to six concerts have been offered, depending on availability of performers and funding raised through subscription
sales.
For over 50 years Modesto Community Concert Association has brought to Modesto such talented artists as William
Primrose, violinist; Claudio Arrau, pianist; Eileen Farrell, soprano; Boston Pops Tour Orchestra; Leon Fleisher, pianist;
Joffrey Ballet; Victor Borge; Lili Krauss, pianist; The Roger Wagner Chorale, and many others.
The History Of Community
Concerts
The history of Community Concerts parallels in many ways that of the past century. In the 1920's, America
underwent rapid change and modernization, and the performing arts were no exception. While Chautauqua tours, traveling minstrel
shows, and vaudeville had created a national appetite for live performances, they were disappearing from the scene. There
was a demand for concerts, but the question was how to find a new way to cover their cost.
In 1927, an idea destined
to revolutionize the performing arts in America, sprang up simultaneously in the Great lakes region, and in several Eastern
states. Instead of struggling to make up deficits after the fact, people thought, why not raise some money first and then
hire the artists? It was a plan that worked. Audiences, it seemed were willing to spend a modest sum in advance for a season
of three or four concerts, even if they didn't know what the concerts were going to be. This principle of raising funds to
secure a season prior to contracting is Community Concerts' “magic ingredient”. It insured the success of the humble experiments
that grew first into the organized audience plan, and ultimately into Community Concerts, the largest, most enduring network
of performing arts presenters that has ever existed.
The organized audience idea caught fire and spread, fostering
cultural development on an unprecedented scale. Families, who had been indifferent to “highbrow” single concerts, were attracted
to a whole season with varied offerings at a reasonable price. People, who had never been to a concert before, were being
invited to attend by people they knew - ordinary folks who lived in their neighborhood, went to their church, and whose children
attended school with their children. The early quality performances featured artists including Vladimir Horowitz, Lawrence
Tibbett, Jascha Heifetz and Yehudi Menuhin. A new appreciation for the performing arts, deeply rooted in community spirit,
was being nurtured by the organized audience movement across North America, contributing to the nationwide growth of local
symphonies, theaters and dance companies.
Although the stock market crash of 1929 threatened this brave experiment
in the arts, Community Concerts continued to grow from 42 Community Concert Associations at the start of the Depression to
335 by 1940. People were determined that economic deprivation would not deprive them of beauty and meaning in their lives.
Minutes from Association meetings held in Dust Bowl towns refer to families who could not afford the fifty cents to attend
the concerts, and were being carried by loans from neighbors or by the Association itself. Concerts were regarded as more
than mere entertainment; they were a lifeline to humanity and normalcy.
After World War II, Community Concerts expanded
rapidly. Between 1945 and 1950, the total number of Community Associations rose from 330 to an all time high of 1,008. Audiences
enjoyed the talents of performers like Rudolph Serkin, Paul Robeson, and the Von Trapp Family Singers. Community Concert Associations
were formed in Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and even, briefly, South Africa.
Since then, Community Concerts has
continued to adapt to change, and has successfully weathered many challenges. Faced with the advent of television, competing
performing arts presenters, and changing lifestyles, the total number of Associations has declined from the remarkable figures
of the early 1950's. However, Community Concerts remain a vital force in the arts world today with more than 400 affiliate
Associations. Community Concerts programs have contained artists including Van Cliburn, Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops,
the Alvin Ailey Dance Troupe, the London Symphony orchestra with Andre Previn, Claudio Arrau, Leontyne Price, and a wide and
impressive variety of others. The concerts continue to be of the highest quality, a vital mix of major stars and performers
still on their way to prominence.
The traditional organized audience Associations remain at the heart of Community
Concerts' business, but now small colleges, private schools, planned communities, and other interested presenters are also
invited to participate.
Webmaster: Steve Pecsek modestocca@gmail.com
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