Corning-Painted Post Civic Music

In 1928, a small group of music lovers founded the Corning–Painted Post Civic Music Association, pledging to bring an annual series of concerts to Corning by noted musicians, ensembles, and large orchestras. That autumn, Elmer E. Meadley, the secretary of the Corning Chamber of Commerce, and Charles C. Corwin, Corning’s top authority in music, signed a contract of affiliation with the Civic Concert Society, a national programming institute based in Chicago. The new Civic Music Association became the 130th affiliate in the nation and the third in New York State. Local branches in small communities would solicit subscriptions for a “blind season.” That is, the year’s performers would not be selected until the funds subscribed had been delivered to the Chicago office. Asking subscribers to take such a leap of faith was intended to prevent deficits, and it did so.