Newspapers / Salem College Student Newspaper / Feb. 13, 1981, edition 1 / Page 3
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I'NSTON-SALEM, ''etching 12-year old Jose Pitts i/ute an elegant ,““ette, it is hard to gine that two years j,. he had never seen much less per- N in it. *ve ^gj.g playing jn «us, ‘when some .Pie looked at us and ;to me: ‘You look you’re the right j How’d you like to f dancer?’ ” .“se said, “Yes,” and ...parents - a 'hinist and a .estic servant -- #i®“- He still plays ii h\s friends, but his ti" jnterests revolve iftkl Cindies at the “h Carolina School of j,''•'ts • and activities ( 3s auditioning for a >n “The Nut- jcker,’- is among hun- ll of resident of this w:}ty of 145,000 an-, hves have been m ormed by a 'ertK revolution. in-j„he past 30 years, on-Salem has built ,1 ns empire that os museums, groups, a ^Phony orchestra. Colleges, a dance C®ny, an opera I P and an artists about 500. s more, the of the city, which ^3redtobe dying not j *80, is blossoming (j^ the impact of !ii I' new cultural apexes. Now under l0j,'‘nction are the •v'^oat Roger L. iii hs Center for the Ij vhjing Arts and aj ding Winston t that will include (j. studios, small I. rs. a park and >, ■ space for the has ff^dby, along streets n® "Vacancy” signs Ip dlization J.0 attract new H- ouildings, stores, ^drants and other dorcial operations Ij bich about 250 dollars is slated f V^Pont. Old neigh- Ha^ds of once fading ) ^*3n houses in the ip oenter also are •tl” refurbished by ip''■Occupants ra- ipS from wealthy executives to less mechanics and turnaround is ilL'dg,” says R. Hanes, Jr., a Winston-Salem Moves Up to U.S. News and World Report Page 3, Salemite, Feb. 13.1981 'Or of one of the area’s most prominent families and a leader in the revival. “Before 1949, there was prac tically nothing cultural here except for religious music. Now, this is one of the most important cultural centers in the country, and it just keeps getting better.” Rich Musical Tradition The seeds for cultural growth were planted at the time of the city’s settlement in 1753 by Moravian Protestants. They brought a rich musical tradition,'which they used to create one of the nation’s most valuable collections of native-American mu sical scores. They were also responsible for the formation of the still flourishing curriculum of music at Salem Academy and College, located among the carefully restored brick and frame buildings of Old Salem village. Observes Alicia Stephens of Salem College: “For many years, the school in Salem was the only center of culture in an otherwise arid wilderness. While others in the country were hearing only fiddle and Jew’s-harp rhyth ms, those in the Salem area expected nothing less than Handel and Bach.” Until recently, much of the community’s energy was con centrated on building a strong commercial base. The city is the home of such firms as R.J. Reynolds Industries, Inc., with international interests from cigarettes to shipping lines, and the Hanes Corporation with products from stockings to underwear. Dozens of millionaires live here, and the mansions gracing street after street in the forested suburbs attest to that wealth. For years, much of Winston-Salem’s cul ture was hidden behind the walls of those estates. In some homes, original paintings by Mary Cassatt and Winslow Homer hung in sitting rooms, seen only by the homeowners and their invited guests. In other houses, visitors sometimes were treated to chamber-music concerts and displays of some of the finest an tiques in the South, but the general public saw little of this heritage. Hanes says the tur ning point was the establishment of the city’s Arts Council in 1949 " first in the nation and model for 3,000 similar organizations now spread from coast to coast. The council was backed by a group of citizens who wanted to end Winston-Salem’s cultural void, and they went to work with a fury. Well-planned fund drives raised money for old and new arts organizations. A regional gallery of contemporary arts was created. A major university. Wake Forest, was persuaded to move to the area from Wake Forest, N.C. The North Carolina School of the Arts -- which the Times of London calls “probably the best” such institution in the U.S. - was established here after 1 million dollars was raised in 48 hours. Some of the most important support came from the old families and businesses. Reynolda House, once the home of Richard J. Reynolds, founder of the tobacco company that bears his name, was transformed into a museum of American art. The manor house of industrialist James G. Hanes became the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, where the works of regional artists are displayed. Millions of dollars to finance these and other institutions have been donated over the years by firms such as Reynolds, Hanes and the Wachovia Bank. The results have surprised even the most ardent supporters of revitalization. Music ians, painters, dancers and writers are flocking to the city, and its in fluence is beginning to be felt worldwide. James Houlik, one of the world’s foremost saxophonists, lives here. So does composer Robert Suderburg, chancellor of the North Carolina School of the Arts. Area residents also include actress Rosemary Harris and ballerina Miml Paul. Both inside and outside the region, Winston-Salem-trained artists have made their mark. The School of the Arts has produced designers contributing to productions of the Bolshoi and Metropolitan operas; actors such as Thomas Hulce, who are stars on Broadway and in Hollywood, and dancers in companies from San Francisco to Stuttgart. Said Lincoln Kirstein of the New York Ballet: “Our best-trained dancers come from the North Carolina School of the Arts.” Artist Mackey Bane moved to the area from Illinois. “I came here,” she says, “because this area has so many at tractive qualities: A receptive audience, the presence of institutions like the School of the Arts and SECCA (Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art) and the nearness of so many artists. Artists like to communicate with each other.” In 1975, Bane bought an old wreck of a house in the Crystal Towers area on a hill at the edge of downtown. Many years ago, the neigh- borhood was fashionable. But after the post-World War II rush to the suburbs. Crystal Towers fell on hard times. “There were lots of robberies, and drunks lived all over the place,” she recalls. “But I needed lots of space, and the house was cheap. So I spent three years tearing the house down and putting it together again.” Now, her two-story frame home, set apart from her neighbors by one of her paintings on the front exterior, is part of a handsomely restored community. “It’s a wonderful place to live,” says Bane. “People really care about each other.” Strong Citizen Support The presence of so many creative artists also has had a profound effect on the lives of other citizens. Per formances of the Winston-Salem Sym phony and the Little Theatre often are sold out, and the city ranks among the highest in the nation for per capita support of the arts. More than 6,000 residents contributed to the Winston Square project - over 10 per cent of the family units in he city. Typical of residents who have been in fluenced by the changes is machinist Mitchell Shore, 27, who had virtually no contact with cultural offerings until a few years ago, when a next-door neighbor took him to a play at Wake Forest. “I was amazed by it,” he says. “I started going more and more, and now I see almost every play that’s offered. I even went to New York last spring and took in three plays. It’s a growing part of my life, and to tell you the truth, we’re very fortunate to have all this available here.” Occasionally, com plaints are heard that too much attention is paid to the arts. Some blacks, in particular, argue that more time and money ought to be devoted to tackling problems such as providing better housing and jobs for the poor. Although Winston- Salem’s worst neigh borhoods are paradises compared with many big-city ghettos, hun dreds of residents live in areas such as Liberty- Patterson, where the plumbing often doesn’t work and crime is a worry. Part of that neighborhood is slated to be razed for down town development, but some citizens fear they will be no better off in other neighborhoods they can afford. About 30 percent of the population is black, with a substantial number living in integrated middle-income deve lopments. Thomas J. Elijah, Jr., executive director of the Winston-Salem Urban League, says there has been “some resentment of the arts. But those people don’t realize that the arts will be the center of our downtown, and that if downtown dies, the whole city dies.” Another problem is that the city’s cultural events are perceived by many blacks as white- oriented, and therefore of little interest to them. Several groups have been active both in sponsoring more shows with minority appeal and trying to interest more blacks in standard offerings. “What we’d really like to see,” explains Elijah, “are blacks and whites walking the downtown streets together.” The Envy of Big Cities As cultural activities have grown, so has Winston-Salem’s rep utation. The area’s formula for spurring the arts has been studied by dozens of delegations from around the U.S. and abroad, and the community has become the envy of larger cities such as Atlanta and Charlotte. Observes Edward A. Horrigan, Jr., chairman of the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company: “I’m a New Yorker, and when I came to Reynolds 2tti years ago, my friends said: ‘You’ll shrivel there. Since then, we’ve had dozens of friends visiting, and at the end of their visits, they don’t want to go back.” Many Carolinians anticipate that the opening of the Stevens Center and Winston Square in 1982, an oc casion expected to draw cultural stars from all over the U.S., will be the climax of three decades of expansion, But not Philip Hanes. He declares: “We won’t ever be finished with our growth, not even when we’re the most important cultural city in the nation -- including New York - in a decade or two.” A case of hometown boosterism? Maybe, but nobody who has been exposed to Winston- Salem’s dynamism would every count the city out. Reprinted from U.S. News & World Report, Feb. 9,1981 Impressed with First January Since I am interested in the Arts Management major here at Salem, I participated in an in ternship with the North Carolina Symphony in Raleigh. The internship did not include formal classroom sessions or evaluations. I was required to arrive at 9:30 a.m. and stay until 3:30 p.m. Most of my time was spent under the supervision of our office of community services. In relation to the 36 statewide sym phony volunteer chapters, I had the opportunity to, w.ork with the Director of Education, help plan a major wine and cheese Pops concert, entertain guest conductors and soloists, attend all rehearsals and con certs, attend staff meetings, and interview staff members. Even though I have had very little experience with music, I feel like the four weeks I spent with the symphony were interesting as well as helpful in seeing how a non-profit organization involved in the arts is run. By Janie Parker Front Office Changes Two administrative changes have been announced by Salem Academy and College, effective January 1. James L. Barrett, director of institutional advancement, has assumed additional responsibilities in overseeing buildings and grounds, housekeeping, mail service, security and food services. His new title is director of in stitutional advancement and services. Camille H. Hollis has been appointed director of Salem’s $12.2 million campaign, the largest in the school’s history. The Smith College graduate suceeds Ruth Funsett. Miss Hollis, a native of Massachusetts, is a former assistant to the director of the Winston- Salem Arts Council. She will, in her new post, supervise the final part of the first phase of the Salem Challenge. Barrett, who came to Salem in 1973, is a graduate of Lynchburg College in Virginia and was director of development at Averett College in Danville, Va. for three years.
Salem College Student Newspaper
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Feb. 13, 1981, edition 1
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