USU Libraries Logo
USU Digital Exhibits

EXHIBITS

Musical Visions of America: The 1948–49 Residency of Roy and Johana Harris at USAC: Music with Our Neighbors

Array ( [0] => )

Music with Our Neighbors

SCAP0376Bx004-01404-e.jpg
Roy and Johana Harris in their living room. The call letters on the microphone (KVNU and Intermountain Network) indicate that this photo is promotional material for the Harrises’ radio program, Music with Our Neighbors. The Christmas cards in the background suggest that the photo was taken in December 1948–January 1949. Music with our Neighbors first aired in February 1949. (USU Special Collections & Archives, P0376, Box 4, Image 1404e)
SCAP0376Bx004-01424-b.jpg
Roy and Johana Harris in their living room. Promotional photo for the Harrises’ radio program, Music with Our Neighbors. (USU Special Collections & Archives, P0376, Box 4, Image 1424b)

In addition to performances of music, Roy and Johana gave lecture-recitals and talks on diverse topics such as folk songs, piano technique, and the state of modern music. These talks were formalized in the broadcast medium when, in February 1949, the Harrises initiated a radio program called Music with Our Neighbors. Presented by USAC and broadcast over the twenty-station Intermountain Network on Sundays at 6:30 p.m., the program originated from the living room of the Harris home.

SCAUA-25p05s08-1949-02-03-Page03.pdf
A newspaper article announcing the start of the weekly broadcast, Music with Our Neighbors. (USU Special Collections & Archives, 25.5/8, 1948-1950)

Promising to feature an “informal approach to music,” the weekly program was described as a “group of friends and neighbors” gathering at the Harris hearth. In addition to the Harrises, the program also included Logan businessman Fred Thompson; ElRay Christiansen, who is described as a “prominent church official” in the Herald Journal but who was, in fact, the president of the Logan Utah Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the time; Keith Olsen, who is described as a “farmer from Hyrum”; as well as a rotation of Aggie (USAC) students.