Detroit News Orchestra broadcasting over WWJ - 1922

The Detroit News Orchestra was the world's first

radio orchestra A radio orchestra (or broadcast orchestra) is an orchestra employed by a radio network (and sometimes television networks) in order to provide programming as well as sometimes perform incidental or theme music for various shows on the network. In ...

, first broadcasting in 1922. It was composed of already-distinguished members of the

Detroit Symphony Orchestra The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Michigan. Its primary performance venue is Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown neighborhood. Jader Bignamini is the current music d ...

, broadcasting from

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

WWJ in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

. The orchestra's broadcasts could be received half way across North America and even as far away as Hawaii.

Background

The 16 members of the Detroit News Orchestra were drawn from the city's Detroit Symphony Orchestra, having previously achieved distinction as accomplished soloists. The orchestra broadcast on radio station WWJ, debuting on May 28, 1922. The broadcasts were sponsored by The Detroit Bank and could be received across half of North America. The Orchestra, sometimes referred to as the "little symphony" by WWJ Detroit News radio station, played at their studio Monday through Friday at 7:00 P.M., as well as at 2:00 P.M. on Sundays.

Listeners in Hawaii

On November 23, 1922, at thirty minutes past midnight, the Detroit News Orchestra played the waltz "

Three O'Clock in the Morning "Three O'Clock in the Morning" is a waltz composed by Julián Robledo that was extremely popular in the 1920s. Robledo published the music as a piano solo in 1919, and two years later Dorothy Terriss wrote the lyrics. Paul Whiteman's instrument ...

" in studio in the

Detroit News ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the ''Detroit Tribune'' on Februar ...

building. The transmission was received clearly at 6:30 P.M. local time in the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...

by A. F. Costa, the postmaster there. Several people listened to the program in its entirety at the Wailuku post office, that was more than 4,400 miles (7,100 km) from Detroit. The notes of the music transmitted from the Detroit News radio station in Michigan took about one fiftieth of a second to arrive in Hawaii.

Ensemble

List of personnel of the

musical ensemble A musical ensemble, also known as a music group or musical group, is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrumentalists, ...

. * Otto E Krueger – conductor * Maurice Warner –

violinist The following lists of violinists are available: * List of classical violinists, notable violinists from the baroque era onwards * List of contemporary classical violinists, notable contemporary classical violinists * List of violinist/composers, ...

Herman Goldstein Herman Goldstein (December 8, 1931 – January 24, 2020) was an American criminologist and legal scholar known for developing the problem-oriented policing model. He was Professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School, where he began teaching ...

– violinist * LeRoy Hancock – violinist * Armand Hebert – violinist * Valbert P. Coffey –

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

* Frederick Broeder –

cellist The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 ...

* Eugene W Braunsdorf –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

soloist * Thomas J Byrne –

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. A ...

soloist * R. M. Arey –

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

ist * Vincenzo Pezzi –

bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...

ist * Albert Stagliamo –

horn Horn most often refers to: *Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound ** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...

player * Edward Clarke –

trumpeter The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard B ...

* Floyd O Hara – trumpeter *

Max Smith Richard Max Smith (22 February 1930 – 8 November 2020) was an Australian politician. He represented Pittwater in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1978 to 1986, first as a member of the Liberal Party and then as an independent. S ...

–

trombonist The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

* Arthur Cooper –

xylophone The xylophone (; ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. Like the glockenspiel (which uses metal bars), the xylophone essentially consists of a set of tuned wooden keys arranged in the ...

Background

Listeners in Hawaii

Ensemble

See also

References

Citations

Sources

Further reading