Maxwell Powers Becomes Director

In the 1940s, composer Maxwell Powers became the Director of GHMS where he facilitated performances by prominent contemporary composers and musicians like Henry Cowell, John Cage, Morton Subotnick, and Edgard Varèse.

Powers was known for his innovative approach, including adapting the cello for a student with paralysis. He became an advocate for the therapeutic value of music for children.

In 1948, Powers became Greenwich House’s Executive Director, where he built up many of their social and health service programs centered around addition treatment. Powers was particularly interested in the areas of juvenile delinquency and narcotics use, pushing to treat heroin addiction as a social and medical issue, rather than a criminal one. He served as Executive Director until 1976.

In 1950, Irving Spiegel of The New York Times sat down with GH Founder Mary Simkovitch and Maxwell Powers to talk about the impact of the music school. Read the archive of their conversation here.