10/20/2026
Donald Voorhees (1903-1989) is one of the many innovators we couldn’t fit into our 2026 exhibition, Dynamo! We wish we had space for them all, but luckily we still get to share the fascinating ways they've influenced the Corridor and beyond. Donald Voorhees was nationally famous in 1951 as the conductor of the Bell Telephone Orchestra, which had brought classical music into America’s homes on the radio for twenty-five years. That year, he also became the founding maestro of the Allentown Symphony Orchestra.
Born in Allentown, Voorhees was a child prodigy. He studied music with Bach Choir founder J. Fred Wolle, was an organist and choirmaster at 11, and at 12 played the pit piano in the Lyric Theater. While attending Allentown (now William Allen) High School, he organized two professional orchestras and played violin and piano in the school orchestra.
A week after graduation, Voorhees debuted on Broadway conducting “Broadway Brevities of 1920,” and led several Broadway musicals during the 1920s.
By 1925, Voorhees recognized that broadcast radio could present great music to a wide audience. After forming and conducting several radio ensembles, he organized the Bell Telephone Orchestra and began broadcasting on NBC Radio in 1940. The Bell Telephone Hour moved to live television in 1959, and the top-rated show beamed serious music, light classics, and world-famous soloists into living rooms until 1968.
Voorhees returned regularly to rehearse and direct the Allentown Symphony, bringing stars like opera singers Robert Merrill and Anna Moffo, pianist Peter Serkin, and band leader Benny Goodman to perform with the orchestra. He retired in 1983, after never missing a performance in 32 seasons.
When Voorhees died in 1989, the arts critic for the Allentown Call-Chronicle newspapers praised his commitment to his hometown: “Had Voorhees not been music director for the orchestra’s first year and had he not continued to conduct the group for as long as he did, there probably would be no Allentown Symphony at all.”
The Symphony celebrated its 75th season in 2025–2026. Their Symphony season just opened October 10th and runs through May 2027. Photo credit: Allentown Symphony Association Archives.
