COVID-19 Update:
As of 15 December 2020 the RIAS Library will be closed to visitors, in compliance with the government measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus. These restrictions will be in force until 16 March 2021. In the meantime: stay safe!
"From the Vaults" is the RIAS library and archives blog, in which we highlight remarkable historical persons and events through documents from our collections.
“A Song of Our Own Great Country”: Constructing America in the New Deal’s Federal Music Program
COVID-19 abruptly changed the way we experience music. Musicians across the spectrum, from small jazz trios to large symphony orchestras, find themselves without an audience. The impact on the cultural industry is yet unclear. Ninety years ago, in the aftermath of the Great Depression, musicians were in a similar position, as the state of the economy did not allow many people to attend concerts. To save America’s cultural sector from collapse, president Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal included several measures to assist cultural institutions. As part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a specific division called the Federal Music Program (FMP) was installed to help musicians survive the Great Depression. As both white symphony orchestras and black folk choirs found themselves without work, the New Deal presented a unique opportunity to redefine the American musical tradition, and with it, America itself. Read more.