History of the Music Department
Music has played a central role at Western Connecticut State University since the earliest days of the institution. Mrs. Marion Tweedy was the first music instructor in the Danbury State Normal Training School (catalogue of 1905-1906), as a teacher of singing for the school’s student population of 84 students. A number of voice teachers followed her from 1914 and on (e.g., J. W. Crosley, Stephen Clement) until Leila E. Broughton was hired in 1918 as a music instructor (in addition to her responsibilities teaching physical education and hygiene!) of the renamed State Normal School.
| During the early 1920s, Ms. Broughton was responsible for establishing a fledgling Course in Music to include: | |
| A study of the rudiments of music An acquaintance with standard music Much individual singing, both by rote and note Methods of teaching and practice teaching Chorus work and conducting |
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In the late 1920s, a glee club was started by Ruth E. Holbrook, then a new Supervisor of Music in Training Schools. A four-year curriculum was implemented in 1933, and a year later, Ruth P. De Villafranca was hired as Supervisor of Music in Training School. De Villafranca held a Bachelor of Science degree from New York University, studied at Yale University, and was responsible for the growth of the music offerings during her 23 years of service. In 1938, music courses included Introduction to Music, Materials of Music, Music and the Child, and Music Yesterday and Today. With Dr. Ralph C. Jenkins serving as the first President of Danbury State College, the music curricula grew. Dr. Jenkins who had been the past Director of Music for the United Church in Johnson, Vermont, considered the development of music ability and appreciation as important in the training of students at Danbury State College. The first Bachelor of Education degrees were awarded by the Danbury State Teachers College in 1938.
The college catalogue of 1939 includes the first mention of a Department of Music which “sponsors men’s and women’s ensembles, a mixed chorus, a madrigal group, an a capella choir of wide reputation, and opportunity for participation in the Danbury Symphony Orchestra. The College cooperates with the Danbury Music Center, which sponsors a series of concerts by outstanding artists.”
With over 1,000 students enrolled at Danbury by 1940, music courses increased, with instruction in Music Theory, Keyboard Harmony, Music History and Appreciation, and Professional Subject Matter in Music. The State Teachers College first offered a four-year curriculum leading to the degree Bachelor of Science in Music Education in 1945, certifying graduates to teach music in elementary and secondary schools in the State of Connecticut. By the late 1940s, the department’s faculty included three full-time members (Ruth De Villafranca, Melvin Rein, and Mervin Whitcomb) and a group of eight affiliates in music education. The department offered performances from three major ensembles - orchestra, band, and chorus - in addition to the semi-monthly musicales in Berkshire Auditorium.
The Courier (June 16, 1950), the campus newspaper, announced the first music majors to graduate with a B.S. in music education. As stated in the College catalogs of 1952-53 and 1952-58, respectively, the object of Danbury State Teacher’s College from 1952 through 1978 was expanded to specifically: “train elementary and music teachers for service in the public schools of Connecticut” and “to prepare elementary teachers, junior high school teachers, and music teachers.”
The 1960s saw continued growth with a music faculty of twenty; Dr. Elizabeth Dominy served as Supervisor of Music in Laboratory Schools. The Bachelor of Arts degree was introduced in 1961, and in 1965, James Furman joined the department’s faculty. A major influence as a music educator and director of chorus, Dr. Furman also composed the Oratorio after Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream.” Between 1959-1906, the M.S. degree curriculum in Music Education was initiated.
Many new faculty members joined to the department in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, and then proceeded to serve WestConn for several decades: Lawrence Huntley (horn), Eric Lewis (violin), Richard Moryl (composition), Dave Smith (percussion), Howard Tuvelle (piano), and Howard Williams (trombone). Dr. Ruth P. DeVillafranca served as the first chair of the department. In 1967, Western Connecticut State College acquired the Danbury High School and renamed it White Hall, where the music department is still located today. White Hall’s Ives Concert Hall was completed in 1969, and in the following year the degree Bachelor of Music (Performance) was introduced.
In July 1974 under the leadership of Dr. Howard Tuvelle, Danbury presented the Charles Ives Centennial Concert, performed by the American Symphony Orchestra, with conductors Leonard Bernstein and Michael Tilson Thomas. The concert drew an audience in excess of 7,000 people to the Danbury Fairgrounds and featured the WestConn Chorus, exposing the ensemble to the greater Danbury community. The performance celebrated one of America’s greatest composers and was the impetus for future plans to create what is now the Ives Concert Park on the Westside Campus. Since this time, a number of leading music composers and performers have visited the campus to offer concerts and presentations, including Aaron Copland, Lukas Foss, Virgil Thomson, Otto Luening, Karel Husa, Vladimir Ussachevsky, Julius Baker, Skitch Henderson, Gary Graffman, Ron Carter, Richie Hart, and Billy Taylor.
Today the Music Department, with a faculty of ten full-time and twenty part-time musicians, and an enrollment of over 200 undergraduate and graduate music majors, has taken a leading role for the state and region. The department’s graduates have taken positions in schools as music educators and as performers for various organizations (e.g., Lincoln Center) throughout the United States.
The annual calendar of musical events sponsored by the department includes faculty, student, and guest artist performances in music performance and music education is offered to the University and greater Danbury communities. For example, the Manhattan String Quartet (Eric Lewis, first violin) performed all fifteen Shostakovich String Quartets in a 1989 series of recitals. During the academic year, one-hour Wednesday midday concerts are also offered.
With the start of the twenty-first century, the music department has benefited by a new generation of faculty members. Dr. Fernando Jimenez, conductor and Chair of the department, effectively developed his Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble, notably through the annual “Salute to the Veterans” performances. The Concert Choir and Chamber Singers, under the direction of Dr. Kevin Isaacs, have presented numerous performances on campus. They have also performed with the Ridgefield and New Haven Symphonies, and in Carnegie Hall with the New York Pops and Skitch Henderson. Orchestral concerts conducted by Dr. Eric Lewis and opera productions directed by Dr. Margaret Astrup along with Boyd Schlaefer and Perry Price, can be annually heard on campus with the opera, “Amahl and the Night Visitors”, becoming a seasonal tradition that draws children’s audiences from the greater Danbury area.
The Jazz Studies program, which was established in 1980, is one of the most outstanding programs of its kind in the region, and features an artist faculty of the finest jazz musicians in the New York City area, including Program Director Dr. Dan Goble, and 2001 BMI Jazz Award Winner, Jamie Begian. The 7th Annual WCSU Jazz Festival, presented in cooperation with the Litchfield Jazz Festival, has brought the John Scofield Quartet, saxophonist Don Braden, and trumpeter Terrell Stafford to campus for the three-day event. Other artists who have performed at WCSU include Michael Brecker, Yellowjackets, Joe Lovano, Clark Terry, John Patitucci, Steps Ahead, Jim Snidero, Conrad Herwig, Bob Mintzer, and Matt Wilson.
The Summer Music Programs for Youth, which begin in 1993, are numerous, with music camps in strings, band, and flute. The Julius Baker Flute Master Classes directed by Dr. Kerry Walker are now an annual event at WestConn.
The Music Department seeks to continue its positive development. In July 2003, the Music Department received full accreditation from the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM). Currently, the Music Department is involved in the University Planning Process to construct a new School for the Visual and Performing Arts that will be constructed within the next five years on the Westside campus.
Submitted by:
Dr. Russell Hirshfield
With assistance from Drs. Jim Pegolotti, Howard Tuvelle and the current Music Faculty
June 2002
Addition by Dean Lynne W. Clark, August 2003
