About: Merle J. Isaac
Any school can have an orchestra that plays music, that plays simple songs to entertain the most basic of mind. However, one can only be satiated by simple melodies for so long, and in time will go on to search for something harder, for a piece that will challenge the mind of the performing ensemble. In order to achieve this, music must be produced that will allow the ensemble to be challenged. In 1920, the amount of pieces of music that were appropriate for school orchestras was a scant 302 pieces. Five years later the number was raised to 582. Other than these pieces, a great majority of orchestral music was too difficult for the average school orchestra to perform. Obviously, there was a great need for music that a school orchestra could be challenged by, but still be able to perform.
Enter in Merle J. Isaac. Born in the Chicago area, Isaac is one of the most notable arrangers of the 20th century. He graduated from the Vandercook College of Music and began teaching at John Marshall High School as a music teacher. While teaching, he observed that there is not much quality music available for lower-level orchestras. That lead him to begin arranging his own music for the orchestra. While he did retire from music education 35 years after teaching, he continued to arrange music for school orchestras. His final amount of arrangements numbers to at least 44 pieces, all of which were originally composed by prestigious composers such as Bach, Handel, and Brahms.
The impact of this work is undeniable; Isaac had provided a critical service that allowed for school orchestras to perform pieces that suited them. The short-term impact of this allowed school orchestras to gain popularity among the populace. The long-term impact, however, is much more important. Because there was a new abundance of resources, school orchestras expanded and grew across the country. This has then led to the modern day school orchestra, where appropriate music to play and other necessary resources are readily available to some schools.