1940 — 1949
NOV 14, 1941 Dances with Duke
Duke Ellington and his band members play for dancers at the Sophomore Cotillion. Ellington’s jazzy overtones …
1943 For Ram’s Head, the show must go on, in war and in peace
Ram’s Head performs a G.I. rendition of the Big Game Gaieties to a sell-out crowd, thereby …
1945 The Creative Writing Program is born
Prominent novelist Wallace Stegner comes to Stanford from Harvard and establishes Stanford’s Creative Writing with the …
1946 The Division of Music within the School of Humanities moves into the Knoll, using the space for teaching, library, and practice space
The following year it is reorganized as the Department of Music. The Announcement of Courses for …
1946 Yehudi Menuhin appointed Consulting Professor in the Division of Music
Although Menuhin’s appointment was only brief, his association with Adolph Baller, who became a lecturer in …
1947 Harold-ing Choral Splendor
The beloved Harold C. Schmidt assumes directorship over the Stanford University Choir. With Jane Stanford’s insistence, …
JAN 6, 1947 Stanford goes live with KZSU
Stanford’s radio station KZSU (originally KSU) makes its first live broadcast under the auspices of the …
MAY 27, 1948 Stanford Opera Workshop production of Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes
Benjamin Britten’s first and perhaps best-known opera, Peter Grimes, is given its first West Coast production …
1949 Sandor Salgo arrives at Stanford
The Hungarian-born American conductor, violinist and scholar, Sandor Salgo, was born into a Jewish family in …
1949 Matt Kahn joins the Department of Art faculty
He taught painting, drawing, sculpture, and design and worked as an artistic consultant to Eichler Homes …