May 6, 1965: The Symphony of the New World Debuts

The debut performance

May 6, 1965: The Symphony of the New World makes its debut performance, at Carnegie Hall in Manhattan. It was the 1st racially integrated orchestra in America.

Since 1940, Benjamin Steinberg, a white and Jewish violinist and conductor, had wanted to form such an orchestra, but, in the racial climate of the time, he could not get sufficient funding for it. 

Benjamin Steinberg

When the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed, Harold Jones remembered:

There was a nucleus of people: Elayne Jones, Harry Smyles, Joe Wilder, Wilmer Wise, Kermit Moore, Lucille Dixon. We all got together and had these meetings. "Are we interested?" Everyone jumped to the idea. "Yes. Let's do this. We're going to do it, have an integrated orchestra."

The standards of the musicians were very high. We had to deal with personnel. Designating the spots to play was a big-time meeting. Benny organized who was going to be first chair, who was going to be second. Then he asked, "How many concerts would you like to do?" We discussed it, and he took it to heart. Benny went out and got the money. He asked Zero Mostel, who was doing "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" on Broadway at the time.

The name "Symphony of the New World" was chosen to reflect the conviction that segregated ensembles were "not of today's world."

Harold Jones played flute, Elayne Jones (no relation) timpani, Harry Smyles oboe, Joe Wilder and Wilmer Wise trumpet, Kermit Moore cello, Lucille Dixon and Richard Davis bass fiddle, Alfred Brown viola, Selwart Clarke and Ross Shub violin. Except for Shub, each of these was black.

So was their musical director, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson. Named for the earlier black British composer Samuel Coleridge Taylor (himself named for the even earlier white British poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge), he attended the High School of Music in Manhattan (later the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and Performing Arts, a.k.a. "The Fame School") and New York University.

Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson

He became a pianist, violinist, composer, conductor and arranger, crossing over from classical to jazz and rock, working with Max Roach, Harry Belafonte and Marvin Gaye. Although Steinberg conducted the SNW's 1st performance at Carnegie Hall, Perkinson became their usual conductor, until his death in 2004. Steinberg had died in 1974.

*

May 6, 1965 was a Thursday. Actress Leslie Hope was born. This was also the day that the twins Dick and Tom Van Arsdale were both selected in the NBA Draft. I have a separate entry for that event.

The NBA season had ended 11 days earlier, when the Celtics beat the Lakers in the Finals. The NHL season had ended 5 days before this date, with the Montreal Canadiens winning the Stanley Cup over the Chicago Black Hawks. Football was out of season.

There were 4 games played in Major League Baseball:

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Cincinnati Reds, 4-3 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Johnny Podres was the winning pitcher. Derrell Griffith and Ron Fairly hit home runs for the Dodgers. Frank Robinson homered for the Reds. Pete Rose went 0-for-4 with a walk.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-3 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Larry Jackson was the winning pitcher, and aided his own cause by going 3-for-3 with a home run and 3 RBIs. Ernie Banks went 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. Willie Stargell hit 2 home runs for the Pirates, and Jim Pagliaroni added 1. Roberto Clemente appeared as a pinch-hitter, and did not reach base.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-1 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Brooks Robinson hit a home run off Jim Kaat, and Harmon Killebrew hit a home run off Robin Roberts.

* And the California Angels beat the Kansas City Athletics, 5-4 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, where the Halos were groundsharing with the Dodgers while waiting for their stadium to be finished in Anaheim. Bobby Knoop went 2-for-3 with a home run and 4 RBIs.