The Indiana University School of Music

by Logan, George M.

• ISBN13: 9780253338204
• ISBN10: 0253338204
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-12-01
• Publisher: Indiana Univ Pr

Summary

"How did the foremost American school of music, a major world cultural institution, come to be at a state university in a provincial town, amid the cornfields of southern Indiana?" Professor George Logan has not been alone in posing this question, but his reply is unique: this magnificent volume. This institutional biography, enlivened with anecdotes and photographs, reveals modest beginnings indeed, when the orchestra for the 1833 Commencement "was composed of two flutes, one of them cracked." The major shift came in 1919 with the arrival of Winfred Merrill, a dean who was also a violinist, conductor, and composer--as well as a seasoned administrator and teacher. He advertised for students, and soon not even seven pianos could meet the demand for practice instruments. Other visionary improvements and expansions were implemented, and not without a fight. The world's greatest performers were engaged to perform in tremendously popular concert series beginning in the 1920s. Under Deans Sanders, Bain, and Webb, the push to recruit the very best intensified--and succeeded. With scholarly scruples, George Logan has resisted any temptation to give a wine-and roses rendition of history, and tales of thorns and vinegar get ample play as well.What emerges is the epic of a glorious institution, a source of tremendous pride, brought into being and sustained through genius, hard work, and some strokes of incredibly good luck.

Author Biography

George M. Logan is James Cappon Professor of English and former Head of the Department of English at Queen's University, Canada.

Table of Contents

Preface	xiii
A Note on Documentation	xix
Prelude	1	(5)
Beginnings (1824-1919)	6	(304)
The Merrill Years (1919-1938)
Symbolism and Uncivil Strife	23	(73)
The Sanders Years (1938-1947)
Experiment in Democracy	96	(32)
The Bain Years (1947-1973)
Blitz: The First Five Years	128	(49)
The Bain Years
Building the Mega-School	177	(52)
The Webb Years (1973-1997)
You Can Make It Anywhere	229	(37)
The Webb Years
Quo Vadis?	266	(44)
Postlude	310	(9)
Appendix 1: Chronology	319	(3)
Appendix 2: Faculty of the Department and School of Music, 1910-1999	322	(8)
Appendix 3: Sources	330	(21)
Index	351