|
|
| Date |
Event |
Conductor |
Concertmaster |
| 1952 |
April |
General Palmer gives Adler the OK to form the orchestra |
Sam Adler |
Harold Levine |
| |
July 5 |
First public concert, in Göppingen |
|
Peter Schaffer |
| |
July |
Farewell concert for Eisenhower, Heidelberg. Adler gets officer's jacket |
|
|
| |
July - August |
Tour of Germany |
|
|
| |
Aug 30 - Sept 21 |
Passau Europäische Wochen (Marriage of Figaro) |
|
|
| |
Nov |
Adler discharged, orchestra disbands |
|
|
| 1953 |
Spring |
Auditions held for new conductor, orchestra reformed |
Andrew Heath |
Lewis Kaplan |
| |
July 17 |
Heath's first concert, in Stuttgart, with soloist Hermann Prey |
|
|
| |
Aug 7 - Sept 1 |
Dixon appointed to conduct at the Passau Europäische Wochen |
James Dixon |
|
| |
Fall |
Tour of Germany and Austria, then the orchestra effectively disbands again. |
|
|
| |
December |
Dimitri Mitropoulos visits the orchestra, meets with Gen. McAuliffe, goes to the
Pentagon on return to US |
|
|
| 1954 |
March 2 |
General McAuliffe issues order formally establishing the 7th Army Symphony Orchestra,
leading to the influx of many new members |
|
|
| |
March |
Plummer arrives, becomes co-concertmaster |
|
Stanley Plummer, Lewis Kaplan |
| |
May |
Orchestra reconstituted |
|
|
| |
June 30 |
Paulu arrives, shares the concertmaster position |
|
Stanley Plummer, Lewis Kaplan, Norman Paulu |
| |
July |
Schermerhorn appointed conductor, gives his debut concert in the Frankfurt Zoo |
Kenneth Schermerhorn |
|
| |
Summer |
Concerts in Germany and Austria, with soloist Charles Rosen |
|
|
| |
Aug 21 - Sept 6 |
Passau Europäische Wochen (Fidelio) |
|
|
| |
??? |
Farewell concert for Gen. McAuliffe |
|
|
| |
Fall, continuing for about nine months |
Norman Paulu, Ron Valpreda, Paul McEnderfer, Al Gove, Jake Berg, and Henry Huttenbach
form the 7th Army Chamber Ensemble, play some 20 concerts |
|
|
| 1955 |
February |
NATO Tour starts: 8 concerts in France, 17 in Italy, and 8 in Great Britain, with
soloists Stanley Plummer and Norman Paulu |
|
|
| |
April |
Lewis Kaplan leaves; Plummer and Paulu continue to share the concertmaster chair |
|
Stanley Plummer, Norman Paulu |
| |
May |
NATO tour ends. Staples becomes concertmaster |
|
Alan Staples |
| |
May 20 |
Ronald Ondrejka appointed conductor, gives his first concert in Heidelberg |
Ronald Ondrejka |
|
| |
July, continuing through August 1956 |
Naegele, Ronald Valpreda, George Andrix, and John White form the 7th Army String Quartet, give a number of concerts in Amerika Häuser |
|
|
| |
August |
Danish tour, second French tour with soloist Charles Rosen |
|
|
| |
October |
Philipp Naegele becomes concertmaster |
|
Philipp Naegele |
| |
December |
Orchestra becomes the first American orchestra to perform a live concert on German radio |
|
|
| 1956 |
March 5 |
Henry Lewis appointed conductor |
Henry Lewis |
|
| |
Spring, summer |
Tours to Holland and Luxembourg |
|
|
| |
Fall |
Passau for a single concert with soloist June Kovach |
|
Harris Goldman |
| |
October |
Greek tour |
|
|
| 1957 |
January |
Ling Tung appointed conductor. During his tenure the orchestra
grows to almost 100 members |
Ling Tung |
|
| |
February 14 |
Orchestra's television debut on the German Television Network in Berlin |
|
Elliott Golub |
| |
March 1 |
Orchestra made a full company (no longer provisional) |
|
|
| |
Spring |
French tour, during which orchestra gets dress blue uniforms |
|
|
| |
August |
Richard Berman takes over as concertmaster |
|
Richard Berman |
| |
Fall |
Appearance at the Passau Festival.
Tour of northern Germany, including Berlin. |
|
|
| |
Oct 13 |
Antal Dorati appears as guest conductor in Stuttgart |
|
|
| |
Oct 22 |
Orchestra participates in "Week of Light Music" on South German Radio.
The program is beamed to 14 countries including the US |
|
|
| |
November 22 |
Serious bus crash near Heidelberg injures 5 musicians |
|
|
| 1958 |
February, continuing through June |
The 7th Army Wind Quintet, formed several months earlier by Arthur Grossman, Howard Hillyer,
William McColl, Henry Schuman, and Felix Skowronek, gives a number of concerts |
|
|
| |
April 9 |
Edward Alley appointed conductor. The orchestra he acquires, quite possibly
the best of the lot, stays largely intact through the spring and summer |
Edward Lee Alley |
|
| |
July 23, 25 |
Samuel Adler returns to guest conduct the orchestra in Regensburg and Tübingen |
|
|
| |
September |
Richard Berman leaves; Elliott Golub again made concertmaster |
|
Elliott Golub |
| |
Oct 10, 11, 12 |
Orchestra plays at the Brussels Worlds Fair, with many new members
after the "mass exodus" shortly before |
|
Robert Bloch |
| |
??? |
Seventh Army Radio Orchestra formed for Frank Choset for 2 recording sessions |
|
|
| 1959 |
April |
Nico Snel appointed conductor |
Nico Snel |
|
| |
Spring |
Italian tour |
|
|
| |
June |
George Nagata becomes concertmaster |
|
George Nagata |
| |
August |
Canarina, Ferritto appointed co-conductors |
John Canarina, John Ferritto |
|
| |
Oct. 12 |
Canarina's debut concert in Heidelberg |
|
|
| |
November |
Homer Holloway takes over as concertmaster |
|
Homer Holloway |
| 1960 |
February |
Two week residency in West Berlin, Ferritto steps down as conductor |
John Canarina |
|
| |
May |
Italian tour, during which "Fingers Paganini" is arrested for violin theft |
|
|
| |
June |
James Dumm becomes concertmaster |
|
James Dumm |
| |
July |
George Orner becomes concertmaster |
|
George Orner |
| |
Fall |
Ralph Lane becomes the conductor |
Ralph Lane |
|
| |
December |
Lt. Bunger, the first officer conductor, takes over for a few concerts. |
Lt. Reid Bunger |
|
| |
|
Arthur Shettle becomes the conductor |
Capt. Arthur Shettle |
|
| 1961 |
Spring??? |
Raphael Feinstein becomes concertmaster |
|
Raphael Feinstein |
| |
August 1 |
Shettle relieved, Mobley takes over as conductor |
William A. Mobley |
|
| |
December |
John Covelli steps in as conductor in Hamburg. Soon afterwards, Lewis becomes
co-conductor |
John Covelli, Thomas Lewis |
|
| 1962 |
Jan 24 |
General Clarke signs the official disbandment order, effective March 31 |
|
|
| |
March 11 |
Orchestra plays its last concert, in Köln |
|
|
| Most of the material for this chart came from John Canarina's book Uncle Sam's Orchestra:
Memories of the Seventh Army Symphony. Several of the concertmasters and other 7ASO members also contributed useful information. |
