Dear People ... Robert Shaw

Book excerpt: "Few American musicians have touched more people in more ways than has Robert Shaw. A minister's son whose early preparation and temperament seemed to destine him for the pulpit, Shaw instead turned his faith and eloquence to the service of music. From his days as a youthful member of the Fred Waring Glee Club, he went on to achieve fame as conductor of the Robert Shaw Chorale. Today he is the musical director of the Atlanta Symphony. Joseph Mussulman deftly places Shaw and his career against the backdrop of developments in American musical history. He documents the renaissance of the choral tradition, the flowering of the community orchestra, the rise of the recording industry, the role of live radio broadcasts, and the widening recognition of twentieth-century American composers--whose music Shaw has always courageously championed. Mussulman also describes the problems involved in developing new avenues of artistic patronage, and the delights and difficulties of touring. Part III, 'A phoenix in Atlanta,' has a dual focus: it examines the south's reentry into the mainstream of American musical life and reports on Shaw's often stormy tenure in Atlanta. But what emerges most powerfully from this biography is the character of Shaw himself. In his capacity as director of numerous ensembles, Shaw has addressed his musicians--many of them part-time non-professionals--in hortative letters that open with the salutation 'Dear people.' These messages not only express his deeply held beliefs about the spiritual values of great music but also reveal his warmth, wit, and irrepressible humor. Dear People ... Robert Shaw chronicles the career of a remarkable man and a gifted musician, whose foremost conviction is that 'to be an artist is not the privilege of a few but the necessity of us all.'"--Dust jacket.