The Standard School Broadcast

Last updated

The Standard School Broadcast is a weekly educational radio program that went on the air in 1928 and promoted music appreciation for students in the western United States. It was the oldest educational radio program in America. Based in San Francisco, California, the series was carried on NBC radio stations and via syndication. The Standard School Broadcast was devoted to music and American history. Carmen Dragon was music director of the programs for many years. The program's sponsor, Standard Oil of California, was honored with a Peabody Award for the series in 1958. In 1975, the program received the Peabody Institutional Award "for 47 years of continuous educational radio service".

Contents

History

The Standard School Broadcast began in October 1928 and was first heard in 72 schools via the NBC Pacific Network. Predating the comparable CBS Radio series The American School of the Air , it was the oldest educational radio program in the United States. [1]

The series presented hundreds of topics including the science of music, music as drama, and non-classical forms including jazz and folk. Guests ranged from Dorothy Warenskjold to Louis Armstrong. [2] : 634  It evolved from a simple lecture program accompanied by a string trio into a program that combined concert hall, stage and documentary, with a symphony orchestra conducted by Carmen Dragon and a cast of professional performers. [1]

The Standard School Broadcast was a companion to the classical music radio program, The Standard Hour . Both were sponsored by Standard Oil of California. The Standard School Broadcast ran on NBC radio [2] : 633–634  and, later, in syndication on the West Coast. [3]

A 1943 brochure shows that the programs were carried on KPO in San Francisco, KFI in Los Angeles, KMJ in Fresno, KGW in Portland, Oregon, KOMO in Seattle, Washington, KHQ in Spokane, Washington, KMED in Medford, Oregon, KDYL in Salt Lake City, Utah, KTAR in Phoenix, Arizona, KGLU in Safford, Arizona, KVOA in Tucson, Arizona, and KYUM in Yuma, Arizona, on Thursday at 10 a.m. Pacific time and 11 a.m. Mountain time. At that time, Carl Kalesch was the music director for the programs and John Grover was the announcer. [4]

The theme music for The Standard School Broadcast, as well as The Standard Hour, was "This Hour Is Yours". The theme was composed by Julius Haug, a violinist in the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. [4]

"It was simple theme music, 45 seconds long," wrote radio historian John Dunning, "and listeners who loved it and requested 'the entire piece' were surprised when told there was no more." [2] : 634 

For many years, the broadcasts originated from NBC's largest radio studio in San Francisco. in the building which housed the network's KPO (later renamed KNBC and then KNBR). [5]

Besides John Grover, announcers for the broadcasts included Hale Sparks and Fred Jorgenson. Many of the programs were preserved on transcription discs or magnetic tape. [3]

Accolades

In 1958, The Standard School Broadcast received a Peabody Award for radio education, "in recognition of continuous expansion and development over a 30-year period. This outstanding music appreciation series for schools combines educational value with highest musicianship, expert production, and utilization of appropriate musical groups of all types, instrumental and vocal." [6]

In 1975, The Standard School Broadcast received the Peabody Institutional Award:

The Standard School Broadcast's 47 years on the air throughout the Western states is an achievement to which any broadcaster could point with pride. It is doubly impressive to note that its programming has always been imaginative and entertaining as well as commercial-free. Its performers have included many of the world’s most distinguished musicians and almost single-handedly it has introduced the joys of good music to several generations of listeners. [7]

Home media

A few episodes of The Standard School Broadcast are available from old-time radio program collectors. [8]

In the 1970s, the Chevron Research Company released a series of recordings edited from The Standard School Broadcast as a public service. The LP records, with teachers guides, were available free of charge to elementary and junior high schools throughout the West, Rocky Mountain area and the Southwest. [1] These out-of-print recordings have been sold on various websites.

Our Nation's Heritage

Music Makers

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peabody Awards</span> International awards for excellence in radio and television

The George Foster Peabody Awards program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in all of television, radio, and online media. Because of their academic affiliation and reputation for discernment, the awards are held in high esteem within the media industry. The awards were conceived by the National Association of Broadcasters in 1938 as the radio industry's equivalent of the Pulitzer Prizes. Programs are recognized in seven categories: news, entertainment, documentaries, children's programming, education, interactive programming, and public service. Peabody Award winners include radio and television stations, networks, online media, producing organizations, and individuals from around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Francisco Symphony</span> American symphony orchestra in San Francisco, California, United States

The San Francisco Symphony, founded in 1911, is an American orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980 the orchestra has been resident at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in the city's Hayes Valley neighborhood. The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus (1972) are part of the organization. Michael Tilson Thomas became the orchestra's music director in 1995, and concluded his tenure in 2020 when Esa-Pekka Salonen took over the position.

The year 1970 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of notable television-related events in that year.

The year 1968 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events in 1968.

This section of the timeline of United States history concerns events from 1970 to 1989

<i>CBS Radio Mystery Theater</i> American radio program, 1974–82

CBS Radio Mystery Theater is a radio drama series created by Himan Brown that was broadcast on CBS Radio Network affiliates from 1974 to 1982, and later in the early 2000s was repeated by the NPR satellite feed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hugh Downs</span> American broadcaster (1921–2020)

Hugh Malcolm Downs was an American radio and television broadcaster, announcer and programmer; television host; news anchor; TV producer; author; game show host; talk show sidekick; and music composer. A regular television presence from the mid 1940s until the late 1990s, he had several successful roles on morning, prime-time, and late-night television. For several years, he held the certified Guinness World Record for the most hours on commercial network television before being surpassed by Regis Philbin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Percy Faith</span> Musical artist

Percy Faith was a Canadian–American bandleader, orchestrator, composer and conductor, known for his lush arrangements of instrumental ballads and Christmas standards. He is often credited with popularizing the "easy listening" or "mood music" format. He became a staple of American popular music in the 1950s and continued well into the 1960s. Although his professional orchestra-leading career began at the height of the swing era, he refined and rethought orchestration techniques, including use of large string sections, to soften and fill out the brass-dominated popular music of the 1940s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Shaw (conductor)</span> American conductor

Robert Lawson Shaw was an American conductor most famous for his work with his namesake Chorale, with the Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus, and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. He was known for drawing public attention to choral music through his wide-ranging influence and mentoring of younger conductors, the high standard of his recordings, his support for racial integration in his choruses, and his support for modern music, winning many awards throughout his career.

KNBR is a AM radio station in San Francisco, California, broadcasting on a clear channel from transmitting facilities in Redwood City, California. KNBR's non-directional 50,000-watt class-A signal can be heard throughout much of the western United States and as far west as the Hawaiian Islands at night. For several decades, KNBR enjoyed a long history as the flagship station of NBC's West Coast radio operations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WFAA</span> ABC affiliate in Dallas

WFAA is a television station licensed to Dallas, Texas, United States, serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex as an affiliate of ABC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Decatur-licensed Estrella TV affiliate KMPX, which provides a full-market high definition simulcast of WFAA's main channel on its UHF physical channel assigned to channel 8.8, due to long-term issues involving WFAA's digital VHF signal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carmen Dragon</span> American conductor, composer, and arranger

Carmen Dragon was an American conductor, composer, and arranger who in addition to live performances and recording, worked in radio, film, and television.

<i>One Mans Family</i> American radio and television soap opera

One Man's Family is an American radio soap opera, heard for almost three decades, from 1932 to 1959. Created by Carlton E. Morse, it was the longest-running uninterrupted dramatic serial in the history of American radio. Television versions of the series aired in prime time from 1949 to 1952 and in daytime from 1954 to 1955.

Josephine Antoine was a coloratura soprano, who sang at the Metropolitan Opera from 1936 through 1948 in 76 appearances, and was well known in "Un ballo in maschera", "Il barbiere di Siviglia", "Les contes d'Hoffmann", "Le Coq d'Or", "Don Giovanni", "Lucia di Lammermoor", "Mignon", "Parsifal", "Rigoletto", and "Die Zauberflöte."

Fine Arts Films was a production studio based in Northern England and Hollywood. It was founded in 1955 by the animator John David Wilson as a means to preserve the notion of animation as an art form. It shut down in 1996.

William McGlaughlin is an American composer, conductor, music educator, and Peabody Award-winning classical music radio host. He is the host and music director of the public radio programs Exploring Music and Saint Paul Sunday.

The Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts are a regular series of weekly broadcasts on network radio of full-length opera performances. They are transmitted live from the stage of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. The Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network airs the live performances on Saturday afternoons while the Met is in season, typically beginning the first Saturday in December, and totaling just over 20 weekly performances through early May. The Met broadcasts are the longest-running continuous classical music program in radio history, and the series has won several Peabody Awards for excellence in broadcasting.

The Standard Hour, also known as The Standard Symphony Hour, was a weekly radio broadcast by the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and the San Francisco Opera first heard in 1926. The series was carried on the NBC Pacific radio network on Sundays at 8:30 p.m. Pacific time.

In regard to children's programming, the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) has aired mostly programming from Walt Disney Television or other producers. This article outlines the history of children's television programming on ABC including the various blocks and notable programs that have aired throughout the television network's history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greg Barron</span> American radio and television journalist

Greg Rowe Barron is an American radio and television journalist, producer and communications executive. His early radio feature work influenced public radio storytelling in the United States and how sound is used in documentary production. Described by Variety in 1981 as "one of the most renowned creators of radio documentaries in the nation", his work as a producer for Minnesota Public Radio between 1972 and 1980 was recognized by numerous regional and national journalism awards and he was an early advocate of the use of high fidelity stereophonic sound as an integral element of radio journalism.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Jones, Don, and Edward Franklin. Liner notes for America Through Five Centuries — Epilogue (SOCAL 20), 1973.
  2. 1 2 3 Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (Hardcover; revised edition of Tune In Yesterday (1976) ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. pp.  633-634. ISBN   978-0-19-507678-3. The Standard Hour, concert music Standard School Broadcast.
  3. 1 2 "The Standard School Broadcast". RadioGOLDINdex. Retrieved 2014-07-18.
  4. 1 2 "This Hour Is Yours: Signature Theme of The Standard Hour and the Standard School Broadcast". S. O. Coutant, Coutant.org. Retrieved 2014-07-18.
  5. ↑ "NBC Memories 1942–1964 by Bill Roddy, Chapter Three of Twelve, Studio A". Archived from the original on March 17, 2007. Retrieved March 5, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link). Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  6. ↑ "Standard School Broadcast". Peabody Awards . Retrieved 2014-07-21.
  7. ↑ "Institutional Award: Standard School Broadcast for 47 Years of Continuous Educational Radio Service". Peabody Awards. Retrieved 2014-07-18.
  8. ↑ "Standard School Broadcast". Original Old Radio of Yesteryear. Retrieved 2014-07-20.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.