In the spring of 1948 Ralph Schwarz, a student at Lehigh University with stage production experience gained in the Army, collaborated with William Schempf, Lehigh's music director, to produce the first Lehigh Music Festival. Coverage of the 1948 festival was featured in the national media and the school was determined to produce an even more elaborate production in 1949. Schwarz and Schempf each assumed their previous roles in the production. The festival was performed in three parts. The first part, titled "Bach to Bop," featured 21 songs in a variety of styles. The second part, "Glory of Lehigh" coupled 17 songs with the projection of photographs depicting different aspects of Lehigh history and academic life. The third part, "Man Would Be Free" was based on "Study of History" by Princeton University historian Arnold J. Toynbee. Some of the more notable technical features of the 1949 festival included adapting a large-scale projector with a cooling system which employed a water bath and a blower from a vacuum cleaner, developing a studio in Drown Hall to create slides for projection, and building a projection screen with pivoting panels that was capable of showing slides with a three-dimensional effect, and the use of nitrogen for special effects. By all accounts the festival was a rousing success, entertaining thousands with a creative blend of music, photography, dance, narration, and special effects. 545 In the spring of 1948 Ralph Schwarz, a student at Lehigh University with stage production experience gained in the Army, collaborated with William Schempf, Lehigh's music director, to produce the first Lehigh Music Festival. Coverage of the 1948 festival was featured in the national media and the school was determined to produce an even more elaborate production in 1949. Schwarz and Schempf each assumed their previous roles in the production. The festival was performed in three parts. The first part, titled "Bach to Bop," featured 21 songs in a variety of styles. The second part, "Glory of Lehigh" coupled 17 songs with the projection of photographs depicting different aspects of Lehigh history and academic life. The third part, "Man Would Be Free" was based on "Study of History" by Princeton University historian Arnold J. Toynbee. Some of the more notable technical features of the 1949 festival included adapting a large-scale projector with a cooling system which employed a water bath and a blower from a vacuum cleaner, developing a studio in Drown Hall to create slides for projection, and building a projection screen with pivoting panels that was capable of showing slides with a three-dimensional effect, and the use of nitrogen for special effects. By all accounts the festival was a rousing success, entertaining thousands with a creative blend of music, photography, dance, narration, and special effects.
Ralph G. Schwarz produced and directed the 1949 Lehigh Music Festival at Lehigh University. During World War II he helped direct large-scale shows for the army and he directed a stage show in Paris to complete his dramatic course at the Sorbonne. Schwarz also organized the 1948 Lehigh Music Festival during his senior year at Lehigh. After graduation, he was hired as an assistant on the staff of the dean to head the festival organization.
From the description of Lehigh Music Festival 1949. 1949. (Lehigh University Libraries). WorldCat record id: 226035265
