The Musical Alliance of the United States

Bringing People Together Through Music


The Musical Alliance of the United States is the namesake of an organization created in 1918 by John C. Freund, founder and first editor of Musical America. Freund called for an alliance to organize "all workers in the field [of music], from the man at the bench in a piano factory to the conductor of the great symphony."

His efforts were part of a long tradition stretching back to the 1830s that sought to increase the role of music in American life. It inspired social activism by individuals and by local and national groups who sought to introduce the broadest possible range of citizens to the joy found in making music. Today's Musical Alliance will share with these pioneers their belief in music's ability to facilitate transformational growth in individuals and to build community.

The musical activists of the last century hoped to create what they called a “musical America.” Although they sought to include the broadest possible range of citizens in their cause, their plan—never truly realized—was to convince fellow Americans to develop a taste for particular types of music—they called it “good music”—and to avoid others. Unlike that earlier alliance, our conception of music is as broad and as diverse as America itself.

For information:  info@musicalalliance.org