MENC: Remembrances and Perspectives
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Title: MENC: Remembrances and Perspectives Author(s): Allen P. Britton Source: Britton, A. P. (1994, Summer). MENC: Remembrances and perspectives. The Quarterly, 5(2), pp. 6-15. (Reprinted with permission in Visions of Research in Music Education, 16(5), Autumn, 2010). Retrieved from http://www-usr.rider.edu/~vrme/ It is with pleasure that we inaugurate the reprint of the entire seven volumes of The Quarterly Journal of Music TeacHing and Learning. The journal began in 1990 as The Quarterly. In 1992, with volume 3, the name changed to The Quarterly Journal of Music Teaching and Learning and continued until 1997. The journal contained articles on issues that were timely when they appeared and are now important for their historical relevance. For many authors, it was their first major publication. Visions of Research in Music Education will publish facsimiles of each issue as it originally appeared. Each article will be a separate pdf file. Jason D. Vodicka has accepted my invitation to serve as guest editor for the reprint project and will compose a new editorial to introduce each volume. Chad Keilman is the production manager. I express deepest thanks to Richard Colwell for granting VRME permission to re-publish The Quarterly in online format. He has graciously prepared an introduction to the reprint series. MENC: Refl1.efl1.brances And Perspectives By Allen P. Britton Dean Emeritus, School of Music University of Michigan remember how pleasant and satisfying it gardless of merit, the candidate from the was to be president of the Music Educa- largest division always wins. So, since Michi- Itors National Conference. Like all teach- gan is in the North Central Division, the larg- ers of the subject, I believed that music was est, I got elected, as I learned from President the greatest thing ever invented and that Karl D. Ernst, who telephoned after the votes teaching music was the finest thing anyone were counted. could be doing. As president, I assumed that At the national level, the MENC was, as it I was, so to speak, roaming in the Lord's remains today, virtually free of politics in the very own vineyards, engaged in holy work partisan sense. There are never any rival fac- for which I would go to heaven someday, tions supporting the nominees. Every presi- unless I did something really awful. The late dent comes to office with ideas of his or her Louis Wersen had reassured me in this re- own, I suppose, but not with a burden of spect just after my election had been con- promised accomplishments. A candidate for firmed. "Allen," he said, "Don't worry about the presidency of MENC has never felt forced being president. You can't destroy the Music to say, "Read my lips." Educators National Conference in two years." So I had no burden of promises, but I did No one starts out with any intention of be- bring a private agenda consisting of two spe- coming president. It comes to every presi- cial items. One was to emphasize to the ex- dent, as it came to me, as a real surprise. tent possible the importance to music educa- Robert A. Choate simply called me at home tors of music itself as distinguished from meth- one night in the fall of 1959. As the immedi- odology; the other was to reconstitute the ate past president, Bob was chairman of the committee on accreditation and certification. nominating committee, and he wanted to With regard to the first, which stemmed know if I would be willing [0 accept the from a feeling that we teachers can easily nomination for president. Earl Beach of the come to think and talk too much about tech- Southern Division was to be the other candi- nical rather than artistic matters, the Ford date. Good, I thought, Earl is much better Foundation unwittingly came to my aid when qualified than I and is sure to be elected. If I it approached MENC about taking over the accept, I'll have the honor of the nomination, management of the Young Composers but I won't win, and I'll be able to continue Project, established several years previously work on my bibliography of eighteenth cen- under the artistic guidance of Norman Della tury singing-school textbooks.I joio, It was the hope of the organizers that It was only later that Clifford V. Buttel- the exposure of young composers to student man, at that time the executive secretary of musicians in the public schools would pro- MENC, told me that, in his experience, re- vide immediate feedback regarding the play- ability and acceptability of their composi- tions. School musicians, it was hoped, and Allen P. Britton serued as MENCPresident from eventualIy the general public, might come to 1960-1962. He is a founding editor of the like modern music better. Modern music, of Journal of Research in Music Education as well course, meant to Della Joio the kind of high as American Music. 6 The Quarterly Journal of Music Teaching and Learning art music being produced in collegiate com- called stage-band music but what was, of position departments. course, jazz. To prove that we also pos- Originally, the general management of this sessed a more universal taste, we engaged project had been entrusted to the National the Budapest Quartet for the final concert. Music Council, which at that time maintained The Ford people were impressed, and shortly a small office in New York with a part-time thereafter the MENC received a grant of executive secretary - not really enough staff $1,380,000. The extra $380,000 was for a for the task - so the Ford Foundation itself project of our own, intended to benefit music had been compelled to take over the practi- education specifically. We had asked for this cal management of the details, including se- extra money to make sure that our special lecting young composers, finding public schools interests could also be furthered. We as- to put them in, supervising sumed direction of the the operation, and tending to Young Composers Project all the other necessary work Louis Wersen had and launched our own the project entailed. Comprehensive Musician- Chester D'Arms, then Ford reassured me ... ship Project. We were for- Foundation officer for the arts, just after my tunate to secure the ser- had been looking for an orga- vices of Bernard Fitzgerald nization with sufficient staff election had been and Grant Beglarian in the and professional know-how confirmed. general direction and man- to do this job. The full story agement of the projects. I has been told elsewhere-, so "Allen,"he said, believe, but do not know it will be sufficient to mention "Don't vvorry for sure, since the imple- here that the search finally mentation of the project came down to a competition about being occurred under Gil between the MENC and the president. You Zimmer-man's leadership, American Musicological So- that Beglarian, himself a ciety CAMS),unlikely adver- can't destroy the composer and theorist, saries because one group Music Educators was the one who came up hardly knew of the existence with the idea of stressing of the other. The MENC de- National comprehensive musician- servedlywon out because the Conference ship (i.e., an advanced ver- AMS leadership failed to evi- sion of what people usu- dence much interest in the in t\Vo years." ally call music theory). fate of school music or Ameri- I'll never forget the day can composers. With the that Vanett, Gil chance of a Ford Foundation grant in the offing, Zimmerman, and I went from Washington to we began immediately to conduct MENC op- New York to talk to Chester D'Arms at the erations in a manner best calculated to con- Ford Foundation. Two things stick in my vince the people at the Ford Foundation that mind: One is that, after asking us to take MENC not only possessed enough staff to over the project, D'Arms turned about and manage the job but also the musical taste asked, in effect, what made us think that and knowledge to do so with appropriate MENC could handle something like this. The elegance. other is the vision of Vanett taking notes on Thus, in planning the program for the Chi- the back of an envelope, putting down a cago conference of 1962, I personally re- hundred thousand dollars here and a hun- viewed every proposed concert program dred thousand there. I kept reminding my- with a view to the quality of the selections. self that this would be the first time that the At Vanett Lawler's suggestion, so as to con- world of higher learning had come to believe tinue our promotion of American indigenous that our profession might have something to music, I approved a full schedule of sessions offer American culture. I hoped that we featuring what we then euphemistically were making a real breakthrough and that Volume V, Number 2 7 many similar projects might be undertaken in Education Association (NEA) (this was in the the future. In this I was mostly wrong, as days before it became a trade union), argued things have turned out, for national inertia that elementary and secondary teachers and has made a mishmash of many rosy dreams. school administrators, as well as local school The IVIENCand the AMS still have nothing to boards, should also have voices in the mat- do with one another. The Ford Foundation ter. The NEA accordingly organized its own has not helped us in many years. subgroup called the National Committee on Coming to grips with the problems associ- the Accreditation of Teacher Education ated with accreditation and certification also (NCATE).