“Out Where the West Begins”

Abstract

This chapter examines the Music Projects in the states of Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico. In Arizona and New Mexico, the Music Projects began expeditiously in late 1935 and continued well into the war years—with both ending in the summer of 1943. In Nevada, however, while the Writers' and Art Projects began without a hitch, the Federal Music Project (FMP) commenced several years later following much uncertainty. Perhaps as much as any other section, the FMP programs of the American Southwest accentuated music popular to each particular state; in Arizona and New Mexico, the Mexican orquestas tipicas remained far and away the most highly demanded of all performing units, and the Nevada FMP funded a number of “swing band” ensembles—the only state to support this new music exclusively.