WGN Radio Station Studio Orchestra Music Library and Records, 1925-1956 | The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music

The collection is organized into five series:

Series 1) Marion Claire correspondence, 1940-1950, arranged chronologically;

Series 2) Tams-Witmark Music Library rental records, 1940-1950, arranged chronologically;

Series 3) Theatre of the Air, 1940-1950, which is arranged into 4 sub-series according to format, which are as follows: Sub-Series 1) Scripts, Sub-Series 2) Manuscript Vocal parts, Sub-Series 3) Orchestral parts, and Sub-Series 4) Full scores and over-sized parts. Each sub-series is arranged by accession number;

Series 4) Scripts and Programs, arranged in rough chronological order;

and Series 5) WGN Music Library, arranged by WGN-assigned numeric code. These codes were either established by the WGN library staff or by UIUC Music Librarian Jay Allen in conjunction with his cataloging project of the early 1960s.

The Chicago-based WGN radio station began its life in 1923 as WJAZ, a small Zenith-owned station broadcasting out of the "Crystal Room" studio in the Edgewater Beach Hotel. In 1924, the Chicago Tribune, under Col. Robert R. McCormick, assumed control of the station and gave it the call letter WGN (for World's Greatest Newspaper). That same year, WGN took over station WDAP, assuming control of its programs, as well as its studio. WGN provided its listeners with local and world news, live broadcasts of political and sporting events, and many music and theatrical programs. In the early days of radio, live music was an integral part of the listening experience. "The Theatre of the Air", which ran from 1940-1956, was produced before a live studio audience and broadcast across the country via the Mutual Broadcasting System. In 1943 "Theatre of the Air" moved to the Medinah Temple, where 3,000-4,000 people could watch the famous singer Marion Claire perform with the WGN Studio Orchestra. Col. Robert R. McCormick would often lend his voice to the program, speaking on historic topics like the Revolutionary War. The WGN Studio Orchestra also played for other programs, such the University of Chicago's "The Human Adventure Series," and music-drama presentations like operettas and musicals. The WGN Studio Orchestra developed an extensive music library to support these productions. Although radio broadcasts of live musical productions may be a thing of the past, WGN still operates at frequency of 720 kHz, and has since 1927.

Sources:
The History of Chicago's WGN radio 720: http://www.wgngold.com/timeline/index.htm

Choral music
Music
Music theater
Opera
Radio and music--Illinois--Chicago
Radio Broadcasting
Radio Station
Radio station -- WGN
Symphony Orchestras
Theater orchestra music
Theatre
Theatrical Productions
Vocal music

Correspondence
Librettos
Sheet music

WGN Radio Station