Music of California - Early Foreign Influences

Early Foreign Influences

The earliest Spanish and English explorers in California encountered Native Americans and established missions to convert them to Christianity. Chanted prayers and hymns were often used, and choirs were eventually formed; many missions formed Native American choirs among recent converts.

As California's European, Asian and African population increased in the 19th century, the state became the earliest West Coast territory admitted to the United States. As on the East Coast, music at the time was dominated by popular minstrel shows and the sale of sheet music. Performers included the Sacramento-born Hyers Sisters and Black Patti. The state's large Mexican population brought traditional folk guitar to California, including virtuoso Luis T. Romero. Chinese immigrants came to California to work on the transcontinental railroad and soon became a large minority in the state; the San Francisco Chinese Opera House was built in 1880, though two years later saw the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act in order to prevent more immigration. The visit of King Kalakaua of Hawaii in 1874 saw the Hawaiian national anthem, "Hawaii Ponoi" (written by the king) set to music by Henri Berger. In the 1880s, Carlos Troyer became a prominent composer, incorporating Spanish and Zuni influences. Polish composer Anton de Kontski's Polish Patrol and Awakening the Lion were also quite popular.