A broad-faced, close-cropped, 26-year-old Harlem musician named Dean Dixon was well on his way last week to doing what no Negro has ever done—conduct a first-rank symphony orchestra. Musician Dixon had already waved a crisp, confident baton over the New York City Symphony (see above), the National Youth Administration radio orchestra, and an amateur symphony of his own in Harlem. At a Town Hall recital, Conductor Dixon made more news. He directed a 38-piece white outfit which he had founded—the New York Chamber Orchestra—in concertos with a debutante pianist, Vivian Rivkin.
Critics gave them all a hand, agreed that Dean Dixon had scored a point. For Town Hall debuts, ordinarily a dime a dozen sound like bigtime with an orchestra on the stage. Dean Dixon's can be hired for $400 to $1,000, depending on the number of players required—union scale for one rehearsal and the performance.
Dean Dixon read music when he was three and a half, gave concerts to imaginary audiences (his mother's idea) when he was five. The Juilliard Institute took him in as a violinist, later spotted conducting possibilities in him. Musician Dixon took a master's degree at the Juilliard Graduate School, is now working at Columbia on a Ph.D. thesis: "The Justification for Editing Classical Scores." In Harlem, between times, he founded Dean Dixon 's Symphony Orchestra, which now has amateur but well-drilled players of every race, aged 12 to 72. The orchestra rehearses weekly, gives one concert a year; next month there will be a special request performance for Mrs. Roosevelt. Conductor Dixon got up his chamber orchestra three years ago. Its' expert players— from the Philharmonic, NBC and other symphonies — are his friends, play together for fun, get union wages for playing in public.
Busy Dean Dixon also works with a choral group, gives three free weekly music appreciation courses to both Negro and white children. These he teaches by inventing melodramatic stories, substituting musical notes for letters and words. "I try to use as much Superman stuff as possible," says Dean Dixon.