The Standard School Broadcast

The Standard School Broadcast was 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".

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

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, On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc., 1998 ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3 hardcover; revised edition of Tune In Yesterday (1976)
  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 at the Wayback Machine (archived March 17, 2007). 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.
  9. ↑ "Prologue to America". Discogs. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  10. ↑ "The New World". Discogs. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  11. ↑ "Exploring the New World". Discogs. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  12. ↑ "Europe in the New World". Discogs. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  13. ↑ "The English in America". Discogs. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  14. ↑ "The Colonial Frontier". Discogs. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  15. ↑ "The Revolutionary War". Discogs. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  16. ↑ "Cornerstones of a New Nation". Discogs. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  17. ↑ "The New Nation is Launched". Discogs. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  18. ↑ "The New Nation is Tested". Discogs. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  19. ↑ "The Nation Expands". Discogs. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  20. ↑ "The Nation Divided". Discogs. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  21. ↑ "Settling the West". Discogs. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  22. ↑ "The Industrial Revolution in America". Discogs. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  23. ↑ "The Twentieth Century Begins". Discogs. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  24. ↑ "The Nation in Prosperity and Poverty". Discogs. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  25. ↑ "America in World War II". Discogs. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  26. ↑ "America at Mid-Century". Discogs. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  27. ↑ "America Through Five Centuries — Epilogue". Discogs. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  28. ↑ "Guitar". Discogs. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  29. ↑ "Percussion". Discogs. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  30. ↑ "Brass". Discogs. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  31. ↑ "Brass". Discogs. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  32. ↑ "Keyboard". Discogs. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  33. ↑ "Strings". Discogs. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  34. ↑ "Woodwinds and Reeds". Discogs. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
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