On Thu, 4 Sep 2014 13:41:10 -0700, Michael Biel <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

<< You would be more likely to find info or scores about the chorus at the
Whiteman collection at Williams College in Williamstown, Mass.  Whiteman
was the conductor. >>

Apropos of this, when I attended Williams College in the 1970s, I 
researched the original 1924 performing materials of what Gershwin then 
called "A Rhapsody in Blue".  The parts had been written out by arranger 
Ferde Grofe with the names of the Whiteman band members at the top of the 
first page of each part (e.g., "Bix").  There was no separate piano part, 
because Gershwin hadn't written out one of his cadenzas by the time of the 
premiere.  In the Whiteman Collection's giant photostat of the conductor's 
score, there are some blank measures with the words, "Wait for nod".  

I used these materials when appearing as piano soloist in what was believed 
to be the first performance of the Urtext version of the Rhapsody since the 
1924 premiere, given with a jazz band and including the 44 cut bars of 
piano solo and four additional bars of cut ensemble music, presented at 
Williams in May, 1978.  I don't recall seeing the score for the later 
version with chorus there, but I wasn't looking for it then.

By the way, the recording with chorus mentioned at the start of this thread 
came out on CD on the Ivory Classics label in 1997 (64405-70702) as a 
filler to a reissue of the Quintessence LP, "Wild About Gershwin". On the 
CD, the Rhapsody was credited as having been recorded in New York in 1945.

Mark Obert-Thorn