This volumes brings together twenty-six essays on diverse subjects of relevance to the social and cultural history of the United States.  Through the lives, institutions, and events chronicled, the book gives readers an intimate view of music and music-making in Rhode Island, past and present.

Part 1 begins in the eighteenth century.  Among the stories told is that of Newport Gardner, the first African American music educator; other chapters document the musical activities in Rhode Island of organist Carl Theodore Pachelbel; singing master William Billings; and tunesmith Andrew Law.  Topics from the nineteenth century include Oliver Shaw, whose hymn tunes bear place names in Rhode Island; Ebin Tourjée, founder of the New England Conservatory and a founder of the Music Teachers National Association; the history of the American Band of Providence; and the life of the band's founder, David Wallis Reeves.  Chronicling developments at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries are chapters on Sissieretta Jones, the soprano whose stunning voice was internationally celebrated; the memorable George M. Cohan, who redifined American musical theater; and the child prodigy Elodie Farnum.

Part 2 presents people and events since 1900.  Subjects include Rhode Island's WPA Orchestra; the Music Mansion in Providence; music educators Stephen E. Farnum; Elizabeth Crook; Abraham A. Schwadron; and Aurora Curran.  There are chapters on innovative jazz cornetist Bobby Hackett; George Wein and the early years of the Newport Jazz Festival; the glittering Newport Music Festival; and Theatre-by-the-Sea in Matunuck.  The evolution of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Youth Orchestra is traced; as is a critical period for music education in Westerly schools.  Chapters also examine music among some of the ethnic groups in the state: Scottish immigrants; the Lusitana Portuguese Band; and the Narragansett, Wampanoag and Mashantucket Pequot Indians.

While Rhode Island is the smallest of the fifty states, its musical heritage and contributions represent a microcosm of the American musical experience.  As across the nation, music composed by European masters flourished in the state in the eighteenth century; but with each succeeding generation, musicians reared on this continent became ever more American.

Many of the stories collected here have not been chronicled previously.  The research draws in part on historical collections and newspapers, as well as personal accounts and interviews.

About the Editors

Carolyn Livingston is Professor Emeritus of Music at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston, and author of Charles Faulkner Bryan: His Life and Work (University of Tennessee Press, 2003).

Dawn Elizabeth Smith is director of instrumental music at Westerly High School in Westerly, Rhode Island.

DMM/SM 53 / 351p /  0-89990-143-3 / Paperback / 2008 /$28.00

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