UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON ARCHIVES
ORAL HISTORY PROJECT

Interview #485
SHETNEY, ORVILLE

SHETNEY, Orville (1919- )
Undergraduate Student; Professor of Music
At UW: 1937-1941; 1956-1994

Interviewed: 1994	
Series: School of Music
Interviewer: Mary Anne Long
Length: 1 hour, 3 minutes	

Undergraduate work at UW; music performance; Gunnar Johansen; Carl Bricken; Cecil Burleigh; Leon Iltis; Haresfoot Club; Vaudeville; big band music; GI Bill; 1960s; Charles Mills; Raymond Dvorak; Irene Eastman; WPA project; SAI (Sigma Alpha Iota); WPA (Works Progress Administration)

NOTE:  This interview was restricted until 2015. 

First Interview Session (April 12, 1994): Digital File
Time	Keywords
00:00:00	Start of Interview/Interviewer’s Introduction.

00:00:27	Question: Memorable experiences as an undergraduate? Answer: Orville Shetney (OS) described himself as a “farm boy” who was glad to be in a city like Madison for the first time. His performances with the orchestra, chorus, and band were among his fondest memories. He also participated in a string ensemble that once performed for President Clarence Dykstra. OS described a studio orchestra that accompanied a WHA variety program. Finally, he mentioned his opportunities touring with the band as well as a men’s chorus. OS called himself “performance crazy” and noted that he took musical opportunities to earn money as well. 

00:03:44	Question: Goals? Answer: He majored in vocal music education, but did practice teaching in string methods and woodwind performance. As a senior, he became temporary band director at Edgewood High School. In short, his training was diverse.

00:05:21	Question: Carl Bricken as Director the School of Music? Answer: Bricken was appointed Director in Fall 1938, surprising faculty members.  OS described him as a “brilliant conductor” who advanced the orchestra. OS mentioned several performances under Bricken’s leadership, as well as various performers and instructors he invited to UW. Bricken also taught classes. Here, OS described a memorable incident when Bricken and Gunnar Johansen improvised Brahms. 

00:10:43	Question: Bricken’s influence on the school? Answer: In the long run, he turned the school away from music education and towards performance. Charles Mills, his predecessor, had emphasized education. Bricken attracted superior performers, however he disappointed members of the music education community. By 1940, the school had earned a reputation as a center for orchestra, band, piano, and voice. OS briefly described several prominent people in the school at that time, including Cecil Burleigh (violin) and Louise Lockwood (piano).

00:16:00	Question: Endurance of rift between music education and performance? Answer: OS said that the rift persisted for a long time. After Bricken left in 1944, Leon Iltis tried to repair the damage, but change was slow. 

00:18:14	Question: Carl Bricken as an instructor? Answer: Bricken taught counterpoint. He was somewhat impatient with less gifted students. Some colleagues thought him somewhat tough and disorganized. 

00:19:59	Question: Reasons for Bricken’s short tenure (6 years) at UW? Answer: World War II had greatly diminished the number of students, and male students especially. Fewer students and restrictions on financial resources made touring very difficult. Those restraints likely frustrated Bricken, who did not have many advocates in university administration. OS recounted a conversation with Bricken in May 1944, just prior to the start of Shetney’s military service. Bricken advised OS to go into music education. 

00:24:39	Question: Haresfoot Club Band? Answer: Shetney called Haresfoot a “social club.” They wrote their own shows and the music for them (in a big band style). The club went on tour throughout Wisconsin during Spring Break, returning to perform at Union Theatre the Saturday before classes resumed. He described their outrageous chorus lines. Most of the dancers were members of the football team dressed in drag. OS played bass, piano, and cell for various shows. He briefly outlined the typical stops on their tour. The shows sold out everywhere. 

00:31:51	Question: Audience members for Haresfoot shows outside Madison? Answer: OS said he did not know, but guessed that many were alumni. Follow-up: Reception in various cities? Answer: Generally good, though Milwaukee was “tough” because they faced greater competition. Follow-up: Reception upon their return to Madison? Answer: OS said they performed at the Parkway Theatre on Capitol Square before the new Union Theatre opened. Students comprised a large chunk of the audience. Fraternities and sororities bought ticket blocks. 

00:34:38	Question: Haresfoot not just “socially acceptable” but universally popular? Answer: Haresfoot was “socially desirable,” Shetney said. He also mentioned the broader social prestige of membership in fraternities and sororities. Follow-up: Background of Haresfoot members? Answer: Few were music majors, but some were theatre majors. OS named some notable members who later pursued careers in drama. 

00:36:56	Question: Haresfoot librettos reflecting issues of the time? Answer: OS recalled one show that spoofed Hitler, placing it around 1940. Follow-up: Successful even in very German state? Answer: Yes.  Follow-up: Did Haresfoot reflect current issues more than other Vaudeville shows? Answer: No, not typically. The plots simply provided a framework for song, dance, band numbers, and laughter.  The Depression and War overseas made humor all the more important. 

00:40:30	Question: Contributions of Haresfoot club to University as a whole? Answer: It was a very successful social club, an example of harmless “college hijinks.”  He contrasted their “hijinks” to those of undergraduate students in the 1960s and 1970s. 

00:41:40	Question: Transition from original performances to Broadway productions in the 1950s? Answer: It became difficult to find undergraduates who could write both scripts and songs. OS described the club as experiencing a “state of decline.” The GI bill raised the average age of the student body, who seemed less interested in the Haresfoot club. The Korean War put a damper on similar social activities, and the 1960s sealed the decline of the Haresfoot club. Follow-up: Community support for the Haresfoot Club? Answer: Club officers relied on professional help and local business owners offered their expertise. 

00:46:44	Question: Impressions of Charles Mills, Ray Dvorak, and Irene Eastman while an undergraduate? Mills directed the School of Music (1914-1937). He was English, a pianist, and a high-ranking organist. He also sported a walrus moustache and pince-nez glasses. Shetney described his popularity among the faculty and credited him with “building” the department, particularly by cultivating its graduate programs and summer music clinic. Mills sent his faculty “on the road” to perform both in and out of state. 

00:51:50	[no question] Ray Dvorak came to the UW as band director. Shetney dubbed him a “showman” who enhanced the band’s reputation for performances at football games. Dvorak was also innovative in broadcasting performances on the radio. Reflecting on Dvorak’s achievements, OS called him “hot stuff.”

00:56:15	[no question] Irene Eastman came to the campus from New England Conservatory in 1910. Mills needed help teaching theory and organ. OS described her as “a classy lady,” meticulously dressed and sporting pince-nez glasses.  Although short, she cut an imposing figure and could be a “real tyrant” in class. OS was unsure why, despite her talent, she did not advance to the rank of associate professor from assistant professor. Eastman was active in SAI (Sigma Alpha Iota) and functioned as an informal Dean of Women for students of the Music School. 

01:01:01	Question: Any links between School of Music and WPA? Answer: OS was familiar with WPA presence on campus – their office was located in Music Hall – but was not certain of the extent or nature of the connection. He recalled that one office copyist had been a renowned tenor in Germany. 

01:03:36	End of interview.

END OF INTERVIEW #485