THE ORCHESTRA DA CAMERA OF LONG ISLAND: AN HISTORICAL DOCUMENTARY OF A CATALYST FOR ARTS IN EDUCATION, 1957-1982 (NEW YORK).

Abstract

The Orchestra da Camera, founded in 1957 by Ralph and Flori Lorr, is a remarkable organization devoted to offering a variety of music experiences for public school students and the general population on Long Island, and in New York City. Despite the fact that the da Camera has received national recognition for the innovations it has made in bringing professionally performed music to public school students, and the population of the suburban area that offered a paucity of professional musical productions on a local level, there has never been any significant record made of this history of the da Camera, or of the founders. The purpose of this study has been to offer an oral history of the Orchestra da Camera, with a special emphasis on the etiology and progress of the da Camera as perceived by Ralph and Flori Lorr. With this history now recorded, it is possible that other musicians, music educators, and arts organizations might find it useful to refer to the da Camera as a model for future community and in-school music programming.