ABSTRACT
National relief efforts for musicians started with an experiment by the Civil Works Administration (CWA) in 1934. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) Civic Symphony became the leading orchestra in Philadelphia during the late 1930s and early 1940s, when the Philadelphia Orchestra underwent a difficult leadership transition from Leopold Stokowski to Eugene Ormandy. Philadelphia's WPA Civic Symphony and its programs strongly emphasized American composers, conductors, and musicians. The Civic Symphony provided a unique opportunity for American composers during the Depression, particularly local people who had worked in obscurity. The Civic Symphony encouraged the creation of new American music, largely by Philadelphians, because Federal Music Project (FMP) leadership realized the nation's musical future rested on the cultivation of a new audience and the encouragement of local composers. The social function of the Civic Symphony was just as important as the employment practices of the Philadelphia FMP.
