Fifty Years of Music Education in America

Included Here are three of five reports presented by past presidents of the Music Educators National Conference at the Biennial Conference Breakfast held Sunday morning, March 19, in St. Louis. In preparing their statements, the five past presidents had been asked to consider the question, “What Ideas and Practices Were Current During the Decade in Which My Presidency Occurred That Are Still Vital for Music Education Today?” The first three of the sketches, covering the period 1901 to 1930, are by Past Presidents Frances Elliott Clark (1907-08), Edward B. Birge (1910-11), and Edgar B. Gordon (1925-26). The two chapters dealing with the later decades, 1931-40 and 1941-50, were prepared, respectively, by Past Presidents Herman F. Smith (1934-36) and Lilla Belle Pitts (1942-44). They will be published subsequently in the Journal.

The Editorial Board regards this series of historical reminiscences as of much more than passing significance to all Journal readers. Music educators who have entered the field since the pioneering period of the early decades will particularly appreciate the quick picture which encompasses the forty-three-year life span of their professional organization. Within this period, the “Conference” which was given its name and being by less than 100 school music teachers has become a great organization family with more than 20,000 members. Younger members especially should derive from the story of vision, faith, and purposeful effort an enhanced sense of respect for and pride in the profession they have chosen to enter. And all of us will gain at least a tiny bit better comprehension of what it takes to create and maintain a professional organization like the Music Educators National Conference.