{{Short description|American teacher and musician}} {{Infobox person | name = Josephine F. Sanders | image = <!-- filename only, no "File:" or "Image:" prefix, and no enclosing [[brackets]] --> | alt = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software --> | caption = | birth_name = <!-- only use if different from name --> | birth_date = {{Birth date|1895|01|01}} | birth_place = [[Dallas, Texas]] | death_date = {{Death date and age|1975|03|18|1895|01|01}} | death_place = | other_names = | occupation = | years_active = | known_for = Establishment of the [[Atlanta Symphony Orchestra]] | alma_mater = [[Georgetown University]] | spouse = James O'Hear Sanders }} '''Josephine Fields Sanders''' (January{{nbsp}}1, 1895 {{endash}} March{{nbsp}}18, 1975) was an American [[teacher]] and [[musician]]. Sanders played a key role in the formation of the [[Atlanta Symphony Orchestra]] in the mid-1940s.
Sanders was born on January{{nbsp}}1, 1895 in [[Dallas, Texas]]. She graduated from [[Georgetown University]], followed by graduate studies in violin and French at the [[University of Chicago]] and the [[Royal Conservatory of Brussels]]. Sanders then taught at [[Baylor University]].<ref name="gwa-sanders">{{cite web |title=Josephine Fields Sanders |url=https://www.georgiawomen.org/sanders-josephine-fields |website=Georgia Women of Achievement |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230703134143/https://www.georgiawomen.org/sanders-josephine-fields |archive-date=2023-07-03 |date=2022}}</ref>
After [[World War I]] started, Sanders traveled to Europe to entertain American troops. She married James O'Hear Sanders after returning to the United States, who would later become the lead plaintiff in ''[[Gray v. Sanders]]'' (1963), a Supreme Court case which resulted in Georgia's [[county unit system]] being struck down as unconstitutional.<ref name="gwa-sanders"/>
The Sanders family moved to Atlanta in the early 1940s. By 1943, Sanders had become president of the Atlanta Music Club. Sanders was unhappy that Atlanta was the largest city in the country without a professional orchestra, so she claimed that "Atlanta will grow an orchestra, not buy one". Starting with the In and About Atlanta Orchestra, Sanders raised funds to add professional musicians to the group, which soon became the Atlanta Youth Symphony Orchestra (AYSO).<ref name="aso-paulk">{{cite web |last1=Paulk |first1=James L. |title=Looking Back on the Dawn of a Great Orchestra |url=https://www.aso.org/support-volunteers/ways-to-support/planned-giving/planned-gifts-matter/verdery-cunningham |website=Atlanta Symphony Orchestra}}</ref><ref name="forth-45">{{cite news |last1=Forth |first1=Sally |title=Youth Symphony Jr. Guild Is Latest Musical Project |work=The Atlanta Constitution |date=September 5, 1945}}</ref>
The AYSO held a concert at the [[Municipal Auditorium (Atlanta)|Atlanta Municipal Auditorium]] on February{{nbsp}}4, 1945, conducted by [[Henry Sopkin]]. The sold-out performance led to the AYSO soon changing its name once again to become the [[Atlanta Symphony Orchestra]].<ref name="aso-timeline">{{cite web |title=Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Timeline |url=https://www.aso.org/about-the-aso/mission-history/aso-historical-timeline |publisher=Atlanta Symphony Orchestra |access-date=2 June 2024}}</ref><ref name="dlc-int-72">{{cite web |title=WSB-TV newsfilm clip of Atlanta Symphony Orchestra founder Josephine Sanders speaking about a committee to raise funds and persuade Robert Shaw to stay in Atlanta, February 23, 1972 |url=https://dlg.usg.edu/record/ugabma_wsbn_wsbn65683 |website=Digital Library of Georgia |access-date=2 June 2024}}</ref><ref name="wenk-08">{{cite web |last1=Wenk |first1=Amy |title=Since 1894, Atlanta women’s club focuses on intellectual pursuits |url=https://roughdraftatlanta.com/2008/07/25/1894-atlanta-womens-club-focuses-intellectual-pursuits/ |publisher=Rough Draft Atlanta |date=July 25, 2008}}</ref>
She was also a supporter of the [[High Museum of Art]].<ref name="gwa-sanders"/>
Sanders died on March{{nbsp}}18, 1975.<ref name="gwa-sanders"/> She was added to the [[Georgia Women of Achievement]] in 2022.
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Georgia Women of Achievement}} {{authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanders, Josephine Fields}} [[Category:1895 births]] [[Category:1975 deaths]] [[Category:People from Dallas]] [[Category:American schoolteachers]] [[Category:American women musicians]]