Updates on the Alma Powell Branch Library can be found on kpl.gov/pow

Music

Roots of Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra

The Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra (KSO) officially began in 1921 under the shrewd leadership of business manager and president Leta G. Snow, with Chester Z. Bronson directing. But this was not Kalamazoo's first symphony orchestra nor was it Chester...

Social Music in Nineteenth Century Kalamazoo

Before the days of the big bands; before jazz and ragtime; while military bands ruled street parades and open air concerts, Kalamazoo's many dance orchestras filled nineteenth century assembly halls and ballrooms with the sweet strains of the...

That Gal in Kalamazoo

It was during World War II that a song helped immortalize Kalamazoo, Michigan. The Glenn Miller Orchestra introduced “I’ve Got a Gal in Kalamazoo” in the 1942 musical Orchestra Wives (20th Century-Fox Pictures) starring George Montgomery, Ann...

Trombley, George L. “Lem”

During the early years of the 20th century, George “Lem” Trombley became one of Kalamazoo's favorite musicians. His ragtime-era compositions sold thousands and his performances were inspiring, but his real dream was to organize a symphony orchestra.

Wallace S. White

Much of what is known about Kalamazoo’s outward appearance during the mid to late nineteenth century—its buildings, its citizens, and its events—can be attributed to the...

William S. Bronson (1854-1914)

William S. Bronson was an extremely active, highly regarded Kalamazoo musician who was involved with several early musical organizations throughout West Michigan during the decades around the turn of the twentieth century...

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