William Rush Dunton, Jr., was an occupational therapist and psychiatrist who was an instructor for the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine from 1903 to 1942. Dunton was also a music lover and amateur percussionist who performed in several ensembles in the Baltimore area, including the Doctors’ Orchestra of the Medical and Chirurgical Faculty of Maryland, the Clifton Orchestra, and the Johns Hopkins Orchestra. In addition, he collected materials related to musical activities in Baltimore, particularly events related to his interests in music and medicine.

The Doctors' Orchestra of the Medical and Chirurgical Faculty of Maryland was founded in 1912 by Dr. Charles F. Nolen. It held its first performance in November 1912 on a steamer heading for an annual meeting of the association in Cambridge, Maryland. The group was composed of approximately 20 members, primarily doctors, some of whom were not affiliated with the faculty. Dunton played percussion in the ensemble. In 1913 it gave a series of “musicales” to benefit the faculty’s medical library building and its book and journal club. In 1914 the Doctors’ Orchestra had a dispute with the faculty over the use of rehearsal space and ceased to be formally associated with the faculty. It continued to perform at various venues in Baltimore, including for patients at Spring Grove Hospital, until it disbanded in 1917 because of the United States’ entry into the First World War.

During this period, a group of faculty members from the Peabody Institute formed the Florestan Club, which met for informal recitals and readings of new music. This club helped found the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, which had its debut in 1916 under the baton of Gustav Strube.

In January 1919, the Johns Hopkins Musical Association was founded, with Edwin Litchfield Turnbull its first president. Its first ensemble, the Johns Hopkins Orchestra, which Dunton participated in, was open to university faculty and students as well as outside musicians, and had 90 members within three years. The orchestra was conducted by Peabody Conservatory faculty member Charles H. Bochau from its founding until 1927, when he was replaced by Bart Wirtz, another Peabody professor. Beginning in 1920, the orchestra regularly held free concerts for patients and staff of Baltimore hospitals, including the Johns Hopkins Hospital and the Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital. In 1922 the ensemble premiered the Violin Concerto of Edwin Grasse, a blind musician who performed the soloist’s part. Dunton remained a regular percussionist for the Johns Hopkins Orchestra throughout the 1920s and was a trustee of the organization by 1930.

Dunton was born in Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Haverford College in 1889 with a B.S. and an M.A. the following year. In 1893 Dunton received an M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. He trained at various hospitals in the Philadelphia area and spent six weeks on Howard Kelly's service at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Moving to Baltimore in 1895, he became the assistant physician at the Sheppard Asylum where he developed an interest in occupational therapy for the mentally ill. He wrote many books and journal articles on the topic of occupational therapy and was involved in the founding of the society for occupational therapy. In 1901 he was appointed Clinical Assistant in the Department of Clinical Neurology, Johns Hopkins Hospital Outpatient Dispensary and assistant in psychiatry Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1903. Dunton was promoted to instructor in psychiatry in 1906, a position he retained until resigning in 1942. Leaving the Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital in 1924, Dunton became the medical director of the Harlem Lodge (the Richard Gundry Home) until 1939. He served another two years at The Laurel Sanitarium before retiring. Dunton published on a variety of subjects including recreational therapy, epilepsy and mental health, quilting, and hooked rugs. In 1922 he was named editor of the Archives of Occupational Thearpy and also served as an associate editor of the American Journal of Psychiatry. He was involved in the founding of many organizations including the Maryland Psychiatric Society and the Baltimore County Medical Association. In 1958, Dunton was honored by the American Occupational Therapy Association with their merit award for his contributions to understanding the benefits of occupational therapy for mentally ill patients.