Welcome to the Web home of the Inland Children's Chorus!
This site is dedicated to preserving and making widely available the history and music of the Inland Children's Chorus (1936-1970), which was an original and historically unique contribution by an American industry to young people and the performing arts.
The Chorus was sponsored by the Inland Manufacturing Division of General Motors Corporation to give 8- to 16-year-old children of Inland employees "a musical education and training which they otherwise might not be able to obtain and to make a contribution to the cultural life of Inland employees and the community." Staged by two-time Tony Award nominee and Broadway theatrical designer Raymond Sovey, the Chorus delighted audiences through popular and widely acclaimed concerts and through national radio and television performances. John D. O'Brien, General Manager of Inland, reflects on the history of the Chorus and describes why a large corporation might value tradition and the performing arts (play audio recording). His remarks were delivered to a capacity audience on the day of one of the most damaging ice storms in the area's history. For Inland's history, see the GM Heritage Center.
The Chorus often performed with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, including the world premiere stage production of Benjamin Britten's Saint Nicolas with guest conductor Hugh Ross of New York's Schola Cantorum and tenor David Lloyd of the New York City Opera. The Philharmonic's 70th Anniversary Commemorative Book (link to large DPO file) describes the Inland Children's Chorus as "one of Dayton's greatest by-products of industry." To learn more about the history of the Chorus and download recordings, see the articles, programs, photos, and music pages.
Wright State will include the final version of inlandchorus.com as a permanent part of the Inland Children's Chorus Collection. Please help complete this history by (1) sharing your comments and memories of Chorus on the forum page, (2) contributing digital versions of your photos, recordings, or other materials to this Web site, and (3) donating your original materials to Special Collections and Archives (http://libraries.wright.edu/special/). For questions and more information, please write to alred@inlandchorus.com or call 262-512-3639.