If you were tasked with running a ten-month world’s fair, with thousands of attendees, who were expecting to be musically entertained, who would you ask to coordinate such an endeavor?
Charles C. Moore, president of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, appointed his good friend and amateur musician, Jacob B. Levinson, to implement the many musical offerings. However, Levinson quickly realized the enormity of the task and turned to a man who successfully ran the music programs for the St. Louis Fair of 1904. Stewart was from Boston, associated with the renowned Boston Symphony Orchestra and had many musical connections throughout the country. Levinson made a wise choice, both in declining the day-to-day drudgery of arranging 367 organ recitals played by 50 different organists to an audience of over 301,000 and posting the only profit of any department: $30,789.70!