Finding Aid for Arthur Johnson University of Illinois Orchestra South American Tour Records, 1963-1992 | The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music

Title: Arthur Johnson University of Illinois Orchestra South American Tour Records, 1963-1992

ID: 12/5/72

Primary Creator: Arthur L. Johnson (1914-1991)

Extent: 0.75 cubic feet

Arrangement: Organized into three series: Series 1, South American Tour Records; Series 2, Orchestra Reunion Records; and Series 3, Blanche Johnson Papers. Each series is in chronological order.

Date Acquired: 04/06/2017. More info below under Accruals.

Subjects: Concert tours, Music, School of, Orchestra

Languages: English, Spanish;Castilian

Consists of photographs, slides, correspondence, and administrative papers related to the University of Illinois Orchestra's South American tour in 1964; slides, photos, and correspondence from the 1989 tour group reunion; and materials collected by Blanche Johnson documenting the CU-Symphony's 40th Anniversary.

Arthur L. Johnson was born August 10, 1914 in Tampico, Illinois. He graduated from Carthage College in 1938 with his bachelor's degree and later attended the University of Illinois, earning a master of arts in 1950 and a master of science in 1954.

Johnson served as an officer in the Army Corps of Engineers during World War II and retired as a colonel in 1974. After teaching music education in high schools in Illinois and Colorado and serving as the band director at the Roosevelt Junior High School, Johnson became a professor of music at the University of Illinois from 1961 till his retirement in 1979. He also managed the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra from 1965 to 1979, and headed the 18-week UI Symphony Orchestra tour of South America in 1964.

Arthur Johnson passed away on September 2, 1991 at his home in Maine and was survived by his wife Tina, his daughter Blanche, and his son Richard.

Concert tours
Music, School of
Orchestra

Repository: The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music

Accruals: Additional materials acquired from Blanche Johnson 4/19/21.

Acquisition Source: Blanche Johnson

Acquisition Method: Gift

Related Materials: William Skidmore UISO Latin American Tour Reunion Records and Personal Papers, 26/20/261