History Notes


Newsletter of the MENC History Special Research Interest Group 
November 2000

Editor, Carolyn Livingston, History SRIG Chair (2000-2002) Chair-Elect, Roger Rideout (2002-2004)


HSRIG  MEETING  AT  CONFERENCE

    A  HSRIG meeting was held at the MENC biennial conference in Washington, DC, on March 10, 2000. Carolyn Livingston, HSRIG chair-elect, presided on behalf of Marie McCarthy, HSRIG chair, who was unable to be present. Livingston assumed the office of chair for the 2000-2002 term. Ballots for the election of chair-elect were presented to the membership by Sondra Wieland Howe. Roger Rideout was elected chair-elect to serve for the 2000-2002 term. He will automatically become HSRIG chair in 2002 and hold office until the 2004 conference. George Heller presented Bruce D. Wilson with the History Special Research Interest Group Distinguished Service Award for 2000. The award is presented every two years to an individual who has made significant contributions to historical research in music education. In nominating Wilson for the award, Marie McCarthy wrote, "Dr. Wilson's primary contribution to historical research in music education lies in his work as archivist of the MENC Historical Center and later in his development of a number of significant special collections in music education at the University of Maryland Libraries. This imaginative and dedicated work attests to his passion for historical research and his commitment to collecting primary source material for use by scholars and researchers in the field." McCarthy also cited Wilson's many exhibitions and programs that have featured archival materials from the Historical Center. Congratulations, Bruce. We very much appreciate your many valuable contributions, both direct and indirect, to history of music education research. We are happy to recognize your diligent and persistent work throughout the years.
    Members present at the meeting expressed appreciation to be conveyed to Marie McCarthy for her work as chair of the HSRIG for the past two years.
    The centerpiece of the meeting was a thought-provoking talk by Barbara Finkelstein, Professor in the Department of Education Policy, Planning and Administration and Director of the International Center for the Study of Education Policy and Human Values, University of Maryland at College Park. Finkelstein's address, "Crossing Borders, Expanding Boundaries: The New Historiography of Education," dealt primarily with recent developments in educational historiography and implications for the scope, content, and methodology of historical research in music education. She suggested that music education history researchers consider more sophisticated cultural studies, such as Lawrence Levine's study of Nineteenth Century African-American music. She called on us to explore the connections between forms of pedagogy across different communities, oral or written, and cultural transmission over time. She asked us to consider previously invisible forms of cultural transmission among families, communities, and schools across cultures as well as the roles played by women in music education. Finkelstein urged that we investigate relationships between the youth culture and its subcultures, marketplace skills, the mass media of education, and the role of schools in forming identity. She stated that music and music education are very different. Important questions to be answered are "What is music in society?" and "What is music as it is constructed in music education?"
    A survey form, which dealt primarily with the work of HSRIG division chairs, was distributed to members present at the meeting. Twenty-one questionnaires were returned by respondents. who were from the following divisions: Eastern  (3), North Central  (6), Northwestern (3), Southern  (4), Southwestern  (2), Western  (1). One respondent was from Canada and another was from Taiwan.
    A considerable amount of active involvement in the HSRIG was indicated by the fact that eight respondents reported that they had served as a division chair, and one had been chair of two different divisions.  Seven respondents had held the office of state MENC historian.
    Those who responded to the request to name activities they had noticed on the part of their division chairs, past or present, checked "organize a HSRIG meeting at a division conference or other venue" (5), "organize a display at the divisional level" (3), "organize a special project at the divisional level" (2), "recruit members to the HSRIG" (7), "encourage the appointment of State Historians within your division" (9).
    Survey respondents were asked to name additional activities that might be appropriate for division chairs. One individual mentioned the possibility that MENC might publish a paperback document on music education history. Another suggested holding HSRIG meetings at division conferences. The "development of a relevant historical research agenda" was named by a third respondent. "Division chairs could serve as 'clearing house' folks for all HSRIGs" was another suggestion offered.
    The next HSRIG Newsletter will discuss answers to the two remaining questions on the survey form. One question asks for ideas for recruiting new members to the HSRIG (on the state, division, and national levels), and the other question requests ideas for improving communication among HSRIG members or communication to the MENC membership at large.

 

ITEMS FOR HISTORY NOTES

    History Notes welcomes items dealing with the history of music education and with history in music education. Some needs are state and division reports on historical activities and archival collections. Other useful information can include notices of scholarly meetings, book reviews, ideas for the preservation of artifacts and sites, suggestions for teaching music in its historical context, summaries of articles, research queries, discussions of research in progress, sources of grants, examples of successful resolutions to research or teaching problems, comments, and opinions. Length should be kept to a minimum. Items need to be aimed toward the wide interests of the History Notes audience. Comments on and responses to Barbara Finkelstein's address at the March 10 meeting, for example, would be of particular interest to our readers. Longer scholarly articles and extended book reviews are more appropriate for such publications as the Journal of Historical Research in Music Education or the Journal of Research in Music Education. Readers may send submissions to Carolyn Livingston, musiced@uri.edu; 401/874-5470 (fax); Department of Music, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881. Items for spring/early summer History Notes need to be sent by May 1.
 

FOURTH  INTERNATIONAL  SEMINAR  ON  HISTORICAL  RESEARCH IN  MUSIC  EDUCATION

The Fourth International Seminar on Historical Research in Music Education was held on July 7, 2000, at the University of London Institute of Education. The four main papers were:
 
Dickinson, Peter (University of London). "Bernarr Rainbow (1914-1998)."

 
Finney, John (Homerton College, Cambridge). "Singing and the National Curriculum: A Historical Perspective." 
 
Lynch, Mike (University of Reading). The aboliton of 'payment by results': the end of school music or an opportunity for further development as reported in the School Music Review 1892-1901?" 
 
Gilbert-Dyson, Rebekah (Anglia Polytechnic University). "Women within the Conservatoire: a study of gender and music education at the Royal Academy of music (1888-1936)." -submitted by Gordon Cox

CALL  FOR  PAPERS

    The Journal of Historical Research in Music Education publishes articles and reviews pertinent in any way to the history of music education. Authors should submit four copies of the manuscript on 8 1/2 x 11 inch paper, typewritten and double spaced. Manuscripts submitted as articles and reviews should conform to A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 6th ed., revised by John Grossman and Alice Bennett (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996). Use numbered endnotes (footnotes) rather than parenthetical references. To preserve anonymity in the review process, authors should place their names, addresses, and institutional affiliations on the title page only. Authors of manuscripts (articles and reviews) accepted for publication will be required to submit the material on a computer disk. Any author submitting a manuscript based on a master's thesis or doctoral dissertation should indicate that fact in a cover letter. Manuscripts should not be submitted simultaneously to more than one journal. Material contained in submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, either in whole or in part. Send manuscripts and queries to: JHRME, Jere T. Humphreys, School of Music, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ  85287-0405 Jere.Humphreys@asu.edu. Submit book reviews to: Marie McCarthy, School of Music, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 mm148@umail.umd.edu.


    The annual subscription rate is as follows: students, US$10.00; individuals, US$20.00; institutions, US$40.00. Annual subscriptions run from July through June, with issues appearing in October and April of each year. Back issues from Vols. I-XX (forty-five issues) are US$5.00 each. Complete sets of Vols. I-XX may be purchased for US$200.00. Back issues from Vols. XXI and higher are US$10.00 each for individuals and US$20.00 for institutions. Contact: JHRME, School of Music, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-0405, USA; jhrme@asu.edu; http://www.asu.edu/cfa/jhrme.

 BOOK  REVIEW

    Robert T. Laudon.  Minnesota Music Teachers Association: The Profession and the Community, 1901-2000.  Eden Prairie, MN: Minnesota Music Teachers Association, 2000, 188 pages. ISBN 0-9679777-0-3, $17.95 (paperback). Available for $20 (including shipping and handling) from Minnesota Music Teachers Association, 11572 Landing Road, Eden Prairie, MN 55347; email, mmta@sihope.com
     The Minnesota Music Teachers Association (MMTA), an organization of independent music teachers affiliated with the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), is celebrating its centenary with an excellent publication describing the history of independent music teaching in Minnesota and the relationship of MMTA to the musical communities in the state. Robert Laudon, who is a Musicology Professor Emeritus at the University of Minnesota and a past president of MMTA, has spent many years researching this book.
     How can an organization's centennial history appeal to both the practical music teacher and the scholar? This attractive book includes many pictures of past leaders and musical activities, and copies of important concert programs. The text is written well and the layout is appealing. There is a chronology (pages 165-81) of state conventions, presidents, major concerts, and MMTA events. Scholars will appreciate the detailed endnotes (pages 141-64), which include biographies of all the presidents and many valuable sources of information.
     MMTA was founded in 1901 and affiliated with MTNA in 1922. During the first third of the twentieth century, the presidents were men (except for Elsie Shawe, who was also active in MENC). During the middle third, presidents were both men and women and included many college professors. Presidents in the last third have been mostly female independent music teachers. A major activity of MMTA has been the annual contest in which winners play in a spring massed-piano event. Percy Grainger conducted the first concert in 1936, and the twenty-piano concert is still popular. MMTA has actively promoted school music for credit and certification programs for teachers. Laudon describes the development of theory examinations and comprehensive exams for piano and other instruments. Laudon's book is an excellent model for historians as they research the history of music education organizations in many states.
- submitted by Sondra Wieland Howe

RESEARCH QUERY

Does any historian have biographical data about Thomas Comer, a contemporary of Lowell Mason? He was a Boston area educator and musician. If you have information or can suggest a source, please e-mail Carolyn Livingston at musiced@uri.edu.

 RECENT  PUBLICATIONS

Books
Sand, Barbara Lourie. Teaching Genius: Dorothy DeLay and the Making of a Musician. Portland, OR: Amadeus Press, 2000.
Book Chapters, Periodicals, Yearbooks, and Proceedings Britton, Allen P. "Comments from Another Grand Master." Music Educators Journal 86 (March 2000): 44.
Cole, Judith. "Grace Nash: Nine Decades of Graceful Teaching." Teaching Music 7 (June 2000): 44-48.
Colwell, Richard J. "The Best from the Past." Music Educators Journal 86 (March 2000): 43-49.
Sondra Wieland Howe. "American Women Music Educators, 1900-1950." The Historian's Perspective: A Symposium in Tribute to Allen P. Britton. University of Maryland, College Park, March 2000.
_________.  Leadership in MENC: The Female Tradition." Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education 141 (Summer 1999): 59-65.
_________. "Swiss-German Music Books in the Mason-McConathy Collection: Accounts from Europe to the United Sates." Journal of Research in Music Education 48 (Spring 2000): 26-38.
Humphreys, Jere T., and Sandra L. Stauffer. "An Analysis of the Editorial Committee of the Journal of Research in Music Education, 1953-1992." Journal of Research in Music Education 48 (Spring 2000): 65-77.
Mark, Michael L. "From Tanglewood to Tallahasse in 32 Years." Music Educators Journal 86 (March 2000): 25-28.
_________. "MENC: From Tanglewood to the Present." In Vision 2020: The Housewright Symposium on the Future of Music Education, ed. Clifford K. Madsen, 5-22. Reston, VA: MENCóThe National Association for Music Education, 2000.
Mooney, Kevin E. "Defining Texas Music: Lota May Spell's Contributions." The Bulletin of the Society for American Music 25 (Spring 2000): 1-6.
Piersol, Jon R. "Wiley Housewright on Music's Changing Times." Music Educators Journal 86 (March 2000): 29-31.
Schaeffer, Gregory. "Research Report--Songs on the Prairie: The Unidentified Singing School Book of Laura Ingalls Wilder." The Hymn 51 (July 2000): 38-40.
Tovey, David G. "The Role of the Music Educator in Mexico's Cultural Missions." Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education 139 (Winter 1999): 1-11.
"Twenty-Five Years of Contributions to Music Education from the Editors's Desk: Reflection and Retrospect." Contributions to Music Education 25.1 (1998): 7-15.
Weber, Dennis M. "The Transition of the Cantus Firmus from the Tenor to the Soprano in Anglo-American Hymnody." The Hymn 51 (July 2000): 11-23.
Reviews Beale, John. "Public Worship, Private Faith: Sacred Harp and American Folksong." Ohio History 108.1 (1999): 77-80. - submitted by George N. Heller

PHILOSOPHY OF MUSIC EDUCATION SYMPOSIUM IV

"Into the New Millennium" was the title of Philosophy of Music Education Symposium IV, held at Aston University, Birmingham, England, June 7-10. The School of Music at Indiana University and The University of Louisiana served as sponsors. The titles of papers selected for the symposium and the names of presenters and respondents are listed below:
 
Allsop, Randall (New York, USA). "Music Education as Liberatory Practice: Exploring the Ideas of Milan Kundera." Respondents: Susan Quindag and Pamela Burnard.

 
Bogdan, Deanne (University of Toronto, Canada). "Musical Listening and Performance as Embodied Dialogism." Respondents: Sondra Wieland Howe and Frank Heuser. 
 
Boyce-Tillman, June (King Alfred's College, UK). "Promoting Well-Being Through Music Education." Respondents: David Ward-Steinman and Marguerite Nering. 
 
Carr, David (University of Edinburgh, UK). "Can White Men Play the Blues? Music, Learning Theory and Performance Knowledge." Respondents:Patrice Madura and John Kratus. 
 
Detels, Claire (University of Arkansas, USA). "Towards a Redefinition of the Role of the Arts in Education: Extrapolations from Ernest Gellner's Plough, Sword, and Book." Respondents: Paul Woodford and Louise Pascale. 
 
Elliott, David (University of Toronto, Canada). "Music and Affect: The Praxial View." Respondents: Alvira Panaiotidi and Carlos Rodriguez. 
 
--Livingston, Carolyn (University of Rhode Island, USA). "Naming Country Music: An Historian Looks at Meanings Behind the Labels." Respondents: Dawn Corso and Therese Volk. 
 
Morton, Charlene (University of Prince Edward Island, Canada). "Boom Diddy Boom Boom: Critical Multiculturalism and Music." Respondents: Jerre Humphreys and Heidi Westerlund. 
 
Palmer, Anthony (Boston, USA). "Consiousness Studies and a Philosophy of Music Education." Respondents: Christine Brown and Masafumi Ogawa. 
 
Price, Kingsley (John Hopkins University, USA). "How Can a Piece of Music Be Merry?" Respondent, Forrest Hansen. 
 
Richter, Christoph (University of Berlin, Germany). "Musical Workshop: Activity as an Aspect of Hermeneutic Understanding and as a Way of Didactic Interpretation of Music." Respondents: Monique Salinas-Stauffer and Ann Stokes. 
 
Senyshyn, Yaroslav (Simon Fraser University, Canada) and Susan O'Neill (Keele University, UK). "Subjective Experience of Anxiety and Musical Performance: A Relational Perspective." Respondents: Barbara Kennison and Stephen Zdzinski. 
 
Yob, Iris (Indiana University, USA). "A Feeling for Others: Music Education and Service Learning." Respondents, Lucy Green and Estelle Jorgensen.

HSRIG OFFICERS

* National Chair: Carolyn Livingston, Department of Music, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881. E-mail: musiced@uriacc.uri.edu
* National Vice-Chair: Roger Rideout, Dept. of Music & Dance, 276 FAC, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA. E-mail: rideout@music.umass.edu.
* National Past Chair: Marie McCarthy, School of Music, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742.  E-mail: mm148@umail.umd.edu
* Eastern Division Chair: Patrick M. Jones, Fredonia School of Music, State University of New York, Fredonia, NY 14063. E-mail: jonesp@fredonia.edu
* North Central Division Chair: Jean Fickett, 1175D Arbor Drive, East Lansing, MI 48823 E-mail: fickettj@pilot.msu.edu
* Northwestern Division Chair: Gary Nakayama, 14402 144th St. E, Orting, WA 98360.
* Southern Division Chair: James T. McRaney, 2636 Whiteleigh Court, Atlanta, GA 30345. E-mail: JMcRaney@aol.com
* Southwestern Division Chair: Alan Spurgeon, RR 2 Box 85, Weatherford, OK 73096-9534. E-mail: spurgeon@hpnts.net
* Western Division Chair: Aubrey Penman, 4333 Alderwood Way, Sacramento, CA 95864.