A Brief History University of Colorado Thomas L

Music at the A Brief History University of Colorado Thomas L. Riis University Administrators Mark Kennedy President, The University of Colorado Philip P. DiStefano Chancellor, CU Boulder Russell Moore Provost and Executive Vice-Chancellor for Academic Aff airs, CU Boulder Robert Shay Dean, College of Music, CU Boulder Graphic Designer Mark Schroder, Purple Sage Design Printer Robin Powers, OneTouchPoint ©2019 Regents of the University of Colorado: Glen Gallegos (chair), Irene Griego (vice chair), John Carson, Heidi Ganahl, Chance Hill, John “Jack” Kroll, Sue Sharkey, Linda Shoemaker, Lesley Smith All rights reserved Contents Preface ....................................................................................................................v 1. Music in the Early Years, 1882-1919 ..................................................................1 2. Building a College: The Work of Frank Chace and Rowland Dunham, 1920-1951 ........................................................................................................15 3. Warner Imig Grows the College in a Home of Its Own, 1951-1978 .................37 4. New Programs under New Leaders: Robert Fink and Daniel Sher, 1978-2013 ........................................................................................................59 5. The Future of Music—A Century in the Making ...............................................75 Notes ................................................................................................................83 Bibliography .....................................................................................................91 About the Author ..............................................................................................92 Photo Credits ...................................................................................................92 Appendix ..........................................................................................................94 Preface t seems appropriate, as the fi ftieth anniversary of the establishment of the American Music Research Center (AMRC) in 2017* has just passed and the I centenary of the College of Music at the University of Colorado Boulder in 2020 is at hand, that we look back at the state of musical aff airs in the town when the university was founded. Chapters 1 and 2, published as separate articles in 2014 and 2015, now somewhat revised, are heavily indebted to Grant James Klausman’s unpublished PhD thesis, “A History of the University of Colorado College of Music, 1877-1951,” submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Colorado and approved in 1967, as well as the fi rst of two monumental historical volumes by William E. “Bud” Davis, entitled Glory Colorado!, which covers university events from 1858 to 1963. (The second volume published in 2007 brings this account to 2000.) These opening chapters take us from the early days of the University (when the entire institution was housed within a single building), before any formal music department existed, up through the end of Rowland Dunham’s tenure as leader of the College of Music in 1951. In 1920 President George Norlin, with the support of the board of regents and spurred by the activities of music director Frank Chace, formally announced the creation of a “College of Music,” with the promise of increased enrollments and an expanded curriculum, which followed in short order. Chapter 3 commences with the long and productive deanship of Warner Imig, Dunham’s immediate successor, a fi gure who * Sister Mary Dominic Ray, the original founder of the AMRC, achieved offi cial recognition for the center from her home institution, Dominican College, San Rafael, California in 1967. In 1989, as she neared retirement, the AMRC was moved to Colorado. xiivi Music at the University of Colorado since the mid-1930s had become familiar to students, colleagues and Boulder townspeople alike through his ebullient choral conducting and robust baritone voice—as both a singer and public announcer. Chapter 4 describes the transition in leadership across the university as a whole and attempts to place the College of Music and the University of Colorado into the larger picture of American academic culture in the fi nal quarter of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty- fi rst. The fi nal pages summarize recent developments. These chapters, without attempting to be exhaustive, introduce a cast of infl uential characters and draw attention to several signifi cant landmarks, noting their relationship to the wider context of music-making in American institutions of higher education over the last century. The University of Colorado College is both typical and distinctive in its position among schools of music across the country. Its growth in the heart of the West, nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, claims our attention for many reasons that I hope will become clear as this story is told. The entire book has come about with the ready assistance of many individuals, whose sage advice and remarkable memories have made the compilation of it a pleasure. Thank you, Dean and Ellen Boal, Chris and Margot Brauchli, Barbara Brenton, Eileen Cline, Marty Coffi n Evans, Charles Eakin, Bill Elliott, Robert Fink, Robert Fleisher, James Gentry, Caryl Kassoy, David Korevaar, Amanda Lopez, Rick Masters, Daniel Sher, Julianne Steinhauer. Thanks are also due to many faculty friends and co-workers at the University of Colorado Boulder who provided both information and copious technical assistance: James Austin, Jessie Bauters, Joan Braun, Steve Bruns, Carlo Caballero, Andrew Cooperstock, Alejandro Cremaschi, John Davis, Andrew Garland, Gregory Gentry, Sabrina Green, John Gunther, Eric Harbeson, Peggy Hinton, Mike Johnston, David Korevaar, Don McKinney, Martina Miranda, Mutsumi Moteki, Jeremy Reger, Matthew Roeder, Brenda Romero, Daniel Silver, Elizabeth Swanson. Susan Thomas, current director of the AMRC, and her assistant Eric Hansen have been with this project every step of the way. Hansen’s contribution to this volume has been absolutely crucial; I deeply appreciate his commitment to the work. Mona Lambrecht, curator of the collections at the CU Heritage Center, and David Hays, Greg Robl, Walker Sampson, and Jennifer Sanchez at the Special Collections, Archives, and Preservation division of the University of Colorado Libraries, have rapidly responded to my every request. Wendy Hall and her staff at Boulder’s Carnegie Library for Local History gave indispensable aid on too many occasions to count. Important research tasks were made at the beginning of this study by my students, now CU graduates, Abigail Bernales and Jessica Erbe. Other friends near and far have smoothed the process by improving my computer skills and assisting in proofreading. I am especially grateful to James and Mary Magee. Mark Schroder and A Brief History xiiivii Robin Powers have brought an elegant professional touch to the book’s production. Dean Robert Shay graciously provided the fi nancial resources to bring this product to completion. 1 Music in the Early Years, 1882-1919 he mining settlement of Boulder was organized as a town in 1859. A rough- and-ready creekside encampment, it sprang up and rapidly increased in T size with the report of the discovery of gold in the nearby foothills. As the short-lived “gold rush” subsided and the likelihood of quick riches faded, many new residents who found the region along the Boulder Creek to their liking—and the nearby Arapahos unthreatening—turned to farming, ranching and raising families. The fi rst school building erected in Colorado was reportedly located in the town of Boulder, thus boosting its early reputation as a frontier town that nevertheless placed high value on learning. On October 31, 1861, the fi rst territorial legislature of Colorado chose Boulder, over seven other towns that sought the prize, as the site for the future University of Colorado. Of course, assigning the university to Boulder was not the same as providing the resources needed to actually build a school, and the University would not open for business offi cially for another sixteen years, the year after Colorado achieved statehood in 1876. Until 1884, the entire college—all classrooms, a chapel, the residence of the President Joseph Sewall and his family, and housing for the building’s caretaker and wife— were located in a single solitary building, now known as Old Main. In the words of Jane Sewall, the president’s daughter, her family’s fi rst impression of the University was of . a huge brick building topped by a cupola, rising in the distance. It loomed before us gaunt and alone in the pitiless clear light. No tree nor shrub nor any human habitation was in sight. Vast expanses of rock and sagebrush were its only surroundings.1 2 Music at the University of Colorado Old Main, circa 1876-77 During the fi rst years of the university the instruction on off er was devoted chiefl y to preparing the few dozen admitted students to become teachers to supply public elementary and secondary schools. Informal musical activities took place among residents of Old Main, and the prospects for more music were increased with the acquisition of a square piano for the chapel in December 1882; student singing was promptly added to daily services. Formal instruction in music commenced a few months later when the board of regents allowed a “musical department” to be created. This modest eff ort was short lived—the fi rst instructor R. L. Kent apparently failed to please—and

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