John Dalley

John Dalley (born 3 March 1935 in Madison, Wisconsin) is an American violinist.

He was raised in a musical family.

His father was an orchestra conductor, violinist, composer, instrumental teacher, and music educator.

His mother, from Bloomington, Illinois, was a cellist, music teacher, and music publisher.

He is the son of Orien Emil Dalley and Gretchen Smoot.

Orien Dalley is nationally recognized for his work in assisting Dr. Joseph E. Maddy to organize the National High School Orchestra in Michigan, a massive project that provided the impetus for the Interlochen National Music Camp, now Interlochen Center for the Arts.

He was one of the original faculty at Interlochen.

John's parents had met during Orien's early association with the National High School Orchestra.

The couple had four children, Nielsen, John, Melinda, and Elaine.

The entire family has had close ties with Interlochen, with Gretchen as cello instructor and program director, and Orien teaching violin and conducting at Interlochen.

Three of Orien and Gretchen's grandchildren grew up as summer camp students there.

Orien Dalley was the first conductor of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, until 1949, when he left for Michigan.

In the 1950s, the Wichita Symphony was ranked very high among the professional symphonies in the U.S..

The excellent musicianship of some local students while still in high school earned them performing places within the ranks of the professional Wichita Symphony Orchestra.

He is listed as the fifth symphony conductor with the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra between 1952 and 1955.

At 18, Dalley entered the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia on a full scholarship.

He studied under the concert violinist Efrem Zimbalist, Sr. who had studied at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory in Russia, under the teaching of the violinist Leopold Auer.

Dalley gave solo recitals and played concerti, performed chamber music, and played in concert and opera orchestras.

In a 1957 listing of Curtis recitals and events, Dalley is noted as first viola player in the production of Giacomo Puccini's opera Gianni Schicchi.

"Curtis Institute has served as a training ground for orchestral players to fill the ranks of the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra, although composers, organists, pianists, and singers are offered courses of study as well. All pupils attend on full scholarship, and admission is extremely competitive. Besides composers, conductors, organists, and pianists, only enough students are admitted to fill a single orchestra and an opera company. Accordingly, enrollment is in the range of 150 to 170 students. According to statistics compiled by U.S. News & World Report it held the lowest acceptance rate of any college or university, making it the most selective institution of higher education in the United States."

Curtis produces elite, finely polished musicians who will enter their future musician's world imbued with musical excellence.

Lifelong friends are made.

After graduation from Curtis, Dalley joined the faculty at the Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio and played second violin in the resident string quartet, while performing regularly in recital and as soloist with orchestra.

Eventually he moved to New York City where he free-lanced, then joined the short-lived American String Quartet with the cellist David Soyer."

Dalley began playing the violin when he was three years old with his father as his first teacher.

His early studies were under Virgil Person at College of Emporia.

"During his formative years, his father held a number of positions in different parts of the country, exposing the young violinist to many musical influences."

With his family's stay in Wichita, Kansas, during his father's tenure with the Wichita Symphony, Dalley played in his junior high school orchestra.

As a teenager, he participated as a violinist in the annual all-state school musical competitions for youth orchestras, bands and choral groups under the direction of Dr. Joseph E. Maddy.

At that time Wichita and nearby Winfield were communities blessed with a commitment to music in their schools.

Beginning instrumental classes started in grade school, and junior high school orchestras and bands gave students a real first taste of group and solo performance.

High school concert orchestra and concert band, and marching and pep band let students continue in their formal music education and in the performing arts.

At this time, Wichita was the largest city in Kansas, and nearby Winfield was just a small town.

As good as Wichita was, Winfield was even greater in its musical education.

Winfield had a long history of musical greatness in education due to the time when Maddy was in Winfield directing its high school music program.

Later, Howard Halgedahl, a world class bassoon player, directed the high school music program in Winfield.

Howard Taubman stated in the New York Times, "Do we, in the East, realize that the town of Winfield, Kansas, population 12,500, has one of the most admirable high school orchestras in nation?".

Halgedahl was principal bassoonist with the Wichita Symphony at the time that Dalley's father was conductor.

Maddy, Orien Dalley and Halgedahl all left strong imprints on Kansas music education and at the National Music Camp, as teachers and mentors in the hearts and minds of the youthful students who were privileged to attend.

Wichita Municipal University (now Wichita State University) was well known for its ambitious educational programs in performing arts and in the education of future music teachers.