In its over seventy years of existence, the Friends University symphonic choir, known as the "Singing Quakers," has provided concerts for choral music appreciators throughout the United States, and in Canada, Mexico, and Europe. The present study documents the establishment, growth and development of the Singing Quakers from its inception through May of 1993: identifying (1) the events leading to the development of the Singing Quakers; (2) the purpose and philosophy of the Singing Quakers; (3) the directors of the Singing Quakers and their musical and professional backgrounds; (4) the contributions of each of the directors; (5) the origin and development of the tour concert/Home Concert, Christmas concert, and spring concert traditions; and (6) the literature programmed by the directors for the Singing Quakers' tour concerts/Home Concerts, Christmas concerts, as well as spring concerts, and providing a description of the literature. / The study concludes that the Singing Quakers benefitted from the increased popularity of choral music in the United States during the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, and that the development of the three-annual concert tradition in the 1950s became the foundation of the Singing Quakers' activities through the 1980s and into the early 1990s. These three annual concerts established an audience base for the Singing Quakers' performances, and the annual sales of season tickets for the three-annual concerts provided the Singing Quakers an annual income that enabled Directors Mayer and Riney to expand the activities of the choir. / The study also concludes that the purposes of the Singing Quakers were directly related to the purposes of the university, and that the unified purposes led Friends University officials to support the activities of the Singing Quakers throughout its history. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-07, Section: A, page: 1863. / Major Professor: Andre Thomas. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1994.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_77187 |
| Contributors | Fenton, Kevin A., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 414 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
Page generated in 0.0092 seconds