1969 Press Photo Peace Corps volunteer Gerald Brown and Bolivian Orchestra

Peace Corps volunteers in Bolivia are doing their thing in tutu, white tie and tails--not the usual image, to be sure. It all started two years ago when the Bolivian National Symphony Orchestra was adrift without a conductor to call its own. Rehearsals were few and far between and concerts were almost nonexistent. Money was so scarce, musicians had to buy one piece of music and laboriously hand copy it. into the void stepped Peace Corps volunteer Gerald Brown, who got the job as conductor--the only one of its kind in the Corps--and stepped up rehearsals, recruited new talent, weeded out the deadwood and upped the musicians' pay. The orchestra, seen above in rehearsal, is now on a firm footing with regularly scheduled concerts.

Photo is dated 1969.

Photo measures 9 x 7.25 inches.