DPO History

Joseph and Peggy Albrecht

In 1962, Roberta Peters – foremost coloratura soprano and Metropolitan Opera star – was the featured soloist with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, although she wasn’t the only one hitting a high note. Dayton’s unique KinderConcert won the 1962 American Symphony Orchestra League’s Gold Baton award for excellence in service, information, and education. Premiered in 1961, the KinderConcert showcased the skilled Training Orchestra and served as a special outreach project for the Women’s Association. Jean Betty Weiner, Dayton’s own Mother Goose and Annie Antenna (a character she created), visited schools throughout the year promoting the annual event. Her energy and influence forced the expansion of the KinderConcert to include multiple performances of the same program to fill all the requests from schools and families with young children.

Jean Betty Weiner, Dayton's own Mother Goose, mid-1960s

In 1964, under the direction of Josephine Schwarz, the Dayton Civic Ballet, the second oldest regional ballet in the United States, began appearing with the Dayton Philharmonic as part of the Orchestra’s regular series. That same year, Van Cliburn, the first musician to receive a ticker-tape parade in Manhattan, performed with the DPO to an enthusiastic audience at Memorial Hall. Orchestras around the world had waited in line to engage the famous American pianist, who had become a household name, following his 1958 win at the international Tchaikovsky competition in Moscow.

Business as usual ended in 1965, when Miriam Rosenthal succumbed to cancer. Following her death, Paul Katz wrote in the April 28, 1965 program, “It was my pleasure and privilege to be associated with Miriam Rosenthal for 30 years in the development of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra Association. Affectionately, we dedicate this program to her memory.” Tributes poured in from around the country, honoring the woman who, during the early years, sometimes dipped into her own purse to pay musicians’ salaries. The Miriam Rosenthal Trust Fund had as its purpose to ensure the future of the arts in Dayton, including the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra.

Miriam Rosenthal

Women's Association Committee Meeting during the 1960s

In 1967, the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, in association with the Aullwood Audubon Center, made a recording of Eunice Kettering’s musical composition of a Melrose Pitman poem entitled John James Audubon. National sales of the record albums that resulted benefited the National Audubon Society, which sent praise from its New York City headquarters for the DPO’s “…wonderful cooperation.” Eunice Kettering was the niece of the late Charles Kettering.

DPO's first recording

In 1968, principal second violinist Jaroslav Holesovsky took over the Dayton Philharmonic Training Orchestra’s podium. Under his leadership, the name changed to the Dayton Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, and the DPYO grew to over 100 musicians. Holesovsky’s own daughter, Carolyn, performed with the DPYO that same year, as did Karlton Taylor, a current member of the DPO.­

Jaroslav Holesovsky In February of 1969, the applause was deafening when Paul Katz stepped onto the podium. The concert had not yet begun, but the audience bestowed an unprecedented standing ovation. The response was a show of support for Dayton’s homegrown Orchestra, following a negative editorial in the Dayton Daily News that hinted that the Orchestra was somehow “…skidding to a crossroads” and must consider changes for the future. Coincidentally, an editorial response from the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra confirmed that it was offering to assist the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra by replacing some subscription concerts with performances by CSO ensembles. A letter-to-the-editor from Lloyd Haldeman, General Manager of the CSO, read, “It seems impractical to try to maintain two such institutions as major symphonies in southern Ohio when one could readily serve the entire region.” The DPO accepted the compliment of being referred to as a “major” symphony, but turned down the CSO’s overture to rescue and absorb Dayton somehow. Letters, telegrams, and phone calls poured into Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra headquarters from community leaders, patrons, universities, and musicians offering encouragement to proceed as an autonomous and local organization.

Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, 1972

Autographed picture of Arthur Fiedler, dedicated to Paul Katz,1973 Looking ahead, the DPO contracted Itzhak Perlman, who would make his Dayton debut during the 1969-70 season, and the Women’s Association sponsored a concert of the Prague Symphony as it made its first American tour. Jaroslav Holesovsky was concertmaster, as the Orchestra entered the 1970s, and Robert Young, Wright State University Orchestra Director, received appointment as principal second violin. A family affair, Young’s wife, Karen, also played second violin. Later, their daughter, Ann, would serve as concertmaster for the DPYO. Adon Foster, who had served as DPO’s concertmaster for twelve years, resigned to concentrate more on his duties as full-time professor at Miami University. Foster’s affiliation with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra helped the university establish a working agreement where qualified students could obtain professional experience as fully accredited members of the Philharmonic while pursuing regular course work at the university. At that time, only a handful of universities in the country could offer such an exceptional opportunity for students. Reflecting changing times, in 1971 the DPO began its 39th Season with a Pops Concert, the first time in 38 years that classical music was not the season opener. Pianist Peter Nero, a Juilliard graduate who mixed classical music with jazz and rock, was the featured soloist. The following year, after the waiting list grew to over 100 patrons following a sellout of a Yehudi Menuhin concert, the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, with Menuhin’s permission, generously opened up the rehearsal at $2 per person.

Jane Varella, principal percussionist,1970s

In the early ’70s, Menuhin, Cliburn, and Perlman all made return visits, and Arthur Fiedler served as guest conductor in the spring of ’73. That same year, Richard C. McCauley became General Manager of the Philharmonic Association, beginning a tenure that would last until 1977. Upon his arrival, McCauley faced a financial crisis. In concert programs and throughout the city, the organization had distributed a brochure with the image of a broken violin. Inside, it read, “The failure of our community to respond to this problem could mean the Orchestra will not survive.” Dayton responded. In 1974, to seek contributions on behalf of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, the Dayton Opera Association, and the Dayton Civic Ballet, the new Dayton Arts Fund came into existence. Today, that organization bears the name Culture Works.

Ella Fitzgerald kicked off the new Pops series, established in 1974, to appeal to a broad sector of the Dayton community at a very reasonable cost. Fitzgerald jazzed the crowd at the University of Dayton Arena. The series, with UD’s co-sponsorship, also featured pianist Mike Reid, former football star with the Cincinnati Bengals. 1974 also saw the return of Adon Foster as concertmaster following Holesovsky’s request for a leave of absence.

Virginia Kettering and youngsters conduct the DPO in Kettering Tower Lobby, 1976 By 1975, Memorial Hall once again needed updating. The Montgomery County Commission approved a motion to request plans for the proposed renovation that would include remodeling in the basement and improvements of restrooms, wiring, and acoustics. Change was in store for the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra as well. After 42 years of dedicated service to the Orchestra, he founded, at the end of the 1974-75 season Paul Katz retired. A search committee, including members of the DPO, sought a successor. From the almost 50 applications received, the DPO invited the most promising candidates to Dayton to conduct or audition for the Orchestra.

Charles Wendelken-Wilson

The first candidate to visit Dayton was Charles Wendelken-Wilson, conductor of the New York City Opera Company. Excitement was in the air, following Wendelken-Wilson’s rehearsal of Poulenc’s Sinfonietta and Dvorák’s Symphony No. 7. Musicians were impressed with the guest conductor, and the candidate himself thought that the Orchestra had great potential. When it eventually passed over other candidates, the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra Board made an offer that Wendelken-Wilson accepted. A new era was about to begin.

Wendelken-Wilson was an accomplished keyboard player and graduate of the Mannes College of Music in New York City where he studied under conducting pedagogue Carl Bamberger. After completing his studies at Mannes, a young Wendelken-Wilson received an introduction from an influential teacher to Julius Rudel of the New York City Opera Company, which hired Wendelken-Wilson as an organist and pianist. In time, the young conductor, who had also been chorusmaster of the Philadelphia Lyric Opera, caught the attention of Erich Leinsdorf. This led to Wendelken-Wilson’s appointment as assistant conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Charles Wendelken-Wilson and Beverly Sills,late 1970s

DPO Brass Quintet, circa 1970s

Olive W. Kettering

1979-80 Season Program Cover