Elaine Raines has been the librarian at the Arizona Daily Star for almost 30 years. While she does not claim to be a historian, she does have access to a treasure trove of great historical information.
"Tales from the Morgue" is a way to share some of that information with readers.
If you have an idea for a tale from Tucson's past that you would like to share, please e-mail morguetales@ azstarnet.com.
Symphony Unit is competent
07/24/2008 04:53 PM Elaine Raines
Although that may not sound like the start of a rave review, it certainly was one. The subheading was “Tucson Orchestra Proves Its Worth in Brilliant Program.”
The first concert performed by the Tucson Symphony Orchestra took place on January 13, 1929 in the Tucson High School Auditorium. The Star review began with “Tucson has a Symphony Orchestra of which it may well be proud.”
Under the baton of Camil Van Hulse, the program opened with two works by Schubert, Rosamunde Overture and two movements the Unfinished Symphony, the Allegro moderato and Andante con moto. The orchestra also played the finale from Beethoven’s Symphony #7, the overture from Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro and Luigini’s Egyptian Ballet. The concert concluded with Borodin’s Polovetzian (Polovizen in 1929) Dances.
The first performance of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra in 1929.
It took a small and very dedicated group of Tucsonans to make that first concert a reality. According to Star files, Henry O. Juliani, a bass-playing attorney, along with Camil Van Hulse, a Belgian organist/composer, and Joseph Karg, a violinist, formed the nucleus and inspiration for the symphony.
1987 Star photo Camil Van Hulse, first conductor of the TSO, died in 1988.
Six months after that first meeting, after hours of rehearsal, Van Hulse raised his baton and the 50 members of the nascent Tucson Symphony Orchestra began a great Tucson tradition. A Star editorial stated:
No single achievement in the city’s music history has been so great as the bringing forth of a Symphony Orchestra such as was heard Sunday night. … The Old Pueblo has been reminded often that its’ category of “C’s,” climate, cattle, cotton and copper, cannot stand alone. These must have the support of a fifth, culture.
In the beginning, most concerts were Sunday afternoons in the high school auditorium. Later, some were held at the Temple of Music and Art and also the UA Main Auditorium.
In 1979, at the 50th anniversary concert of the TSO, octogenarian Van Hulse conducted, without score or baton, an abbreviated rendition of Schubert’s Rosamunde Overture.
