The history of Community Concerts parallels in many ways that of the past century.
During the 1920s, radio, film, and the phonograph gave millions of Americans their first taste of professional quality performing arts. There was a problem. While America's interest in great, live music was growing, the audiences to support such concerts were largely confined to major cities, hundreds more cities had no concerts at all, for it was too risky a business. It would be up to some group like the local ladies' musical club to try to bring some noted musical artist or group to their city. This meant lining up some deep pockets to underwrite the cost. Guarantors too often were stuck with meeting a deficit when attendance might rise or fall depending on the public's whims, the weather, or competition from other local events.
Community Concerts proved to be the solution to this problem. The organization began on a shoestring budget in Chicago in 1920, the brainchild of two music managers, Dema Harshbarger and Ward French. It was an idea born of desperation. They were faced with declining concert dates for their artists as both small towns and larger cities were cutting back on concert presentations. The idea that French and his associate came up with was disarmingly simple. They proposed to do away with such local financial risk by organizing a permanent concert association on a non-profit membership basis, raising funds through an intensive one-week campaign. Once the money was raised, artists would be engaged within the limits of the available funds. Thus was born the organized membership concert audience movement.
The Inland Empire Community Concert Association is a not-for-profit, all-volunteer managed organization dedicated to bringing quality entertainment to the residents of the greater Inland Empire region of Southern California.
2010-2011 Board of Directors
President: Jennifer Alvarez
Secretary: Carolina Sparks
Treasurer: Bill Emrich
Parliamentarian: George Morris
Subscriptions/Box Office: Jennifer Alvarez
Children's Concert: Greta Sweetland and Pat Curtis
Publicity/Publications: Pat Curtis and Monica Stotts