“Spit, Baling Wire, Mirrors” and the WPA

This chapter focuses on the Musical Projects in Colorado, Utah, Oregon and Washington. The intermountain states of Colorado and Utah and the Pacific northwestern states of Oregon and Washington all maintained Federal Music Project (FMP) programs. These FMP programs strove, to varying degrees, to integrate indigenous themes and folksong into their musical repertoire. While none experienced the confrontations with the federal or regional administrations that Arizona or New Mexico did, or the unceasing internal squabbling of California, all demonstrated a desire for agency and autonomy in their musical productions. These programs also reflected the regional and musical complexion of their individual states. Indeed, the goals of the individual programs and the resultant power plays between local, state, and national administrations—as well as the subsequent compromises and adjustments—determined the direction of Federal Music in each of these projects.