Centennial History - Presidents (1938-1988)
Louis Woodson Curtis (1938-40)
From the beginning of its development, Louis Woodson Curtis was active in the Western Division of MENC. In addition to serving as a board member for the Western Division, Curtis was a member of the Editorial Board for the Music Educators Journal and served both as second and first vice-president of MENC before serving as president of MENC.
Curtis studied at the University of California, Berkeley, and worked as a music teacher for Los Angeles elementary and secondary schools. He also served as the first head of music education for Los Angeles Public Schools from 1930-1946.
In 1941, Curtis took a 14-week tour of South American countries with John W. Beattie, a former MSNC president, visiting schools, conservatories, and libraries to find music for use in U.S. schools, and to facilitate an international exchange of music education ideas.
"If music is to bring to children the life enrichment that, we believe, lies inherent in that great art, the teacher not only must be equipped with an unquestioned musicianship, but also must bring to the classroom a vitalized enthusiasm based upon active personal experience with music itself. That experience must be devoid of academic connotation and be derived from situations outside the school room. The teacher should remember that he ceases to be a successful music teacher when he ceases to be a musician."
Music Educators Journal, Dec. 1938
Fowler Smith (1940-42)
When Fowler Smith took office as president of MENC, he had already proven himself a capable administrator and leader, both in MENC and in the Detroit, Michigan, public schools, where he served as director of music. His leadership abilities proved vital a little over a year into his term when the United States entered World War II. In response to events on the international stage, Smith organized a members trip by two former MENC presidents to South America to increase general awareness of other countries and cultures. The 1942 national conference at Milwaukee also featured the first international meeting of MENC, broadcasting part of the program on a two-way short wave radio between the U.S. and South American countries.
Smith attended Oberlin College with another MENC president (then MSNC), Karl Gehrkens. He worked as a music teacher and supervisor in various places, from the Chicago suburbs to Boise, Idaho, and finally to Detroit, Michigan.
"It is important in the highest degree, and indispensable, that administrative officers and directors of instruction and curriculum builders have an educational philosophy which recognizes that feeling and emotion (and educational direction in these areas) are quite as important as intellectual concept and training: a philosophy that recognizes music along with other expressive arts as an important agency in the self-realization of the individual and the enrichment of human lives; a philosophy that recognizes music as a universal need, and the responsibility of education to provide for it; a philosophy that evaluates music as quite on the same level, if not as important and fundamental, in terms of life usage and of the ultimate good of education, as the three Rs..."
"In short, when music teachers and directors think less of their own glorification and what they can do with music through the exploitation of young people, and think more of what music can do to young people, they will find emerging the finest singing and playing groups they ever had. In their search for truth they will find beauty."
Music Educators Journal, Jan 1944
Lilla Belle Pitts (1942-44)
Lilla Belle Pitts was a highly active member and president of MENC. Beginning her term as president not long after the United States entered World War II, she was active in the development of the tour of South American countries by former MENC presidents John W. Beattie and Louis Woodson Curtis, citing MENC's need to "have something authentically pertinent to the state of the world," in Music Educators Journal. "A convention had to have a pretty strong raison d'etre to justify the expenditure at a time like this..."
Following her strong leadership as president, Pitts chaired the Golden Anniversary Committee celebrating MENC's 50th year in 1957 and encouraged the individual MENC divisions to highlight the celebration in their division conferences that year. Pitts tried to focus on the theme of unity in her "Open Letter to Music Educators," published at the beginning of the year in the Music Educators Journal. "Like any happy family of healthy, independent individuals, we of the Music Educators National Conference may disagree about a number of details, as we often do," Pitts wrote. "But there remains always a core of principles that holds us together. In our hearts we care about one another, we care about the boys and girls and men and women we teach, and we care about music."
"We believe that music has a special mission in a world torn with anxiety and doubt, dissension and fear; We believe that by its innermost nature, music is closely related to ideal aspirations and purposes; We believe that we can make Music in American Life a living reality of the great American dream — the inalienable right of every human being to the pursuit of happiness; We believe that happiness is a byproduct of a way of living and learning that creates more life by adding to one's store of inner resources of heart, mind and spirit on the one hand, and skill in their outward expression, on the other hand; We believe that all phases of our school music program can be planned, administered and taught in ways that will bring happiness into the lives of the many — not limiting the benefits of musical experience to the especially blessed few; We believe that those of great talent and those of small gifts have need of each other and that making music together is an ideal way of satisfying 'deep hungers from which great dreams grow.'"
Lilla Belle Pitts. Music Educators Journal, January 1957.
Music Educators Hall of Fame 1986
John C. Kendel (1944-46)
John C. Kendel's term as president of MENC came during a time of great change for the organization. With World War II ending just before his presidency did, Kendel was in a position to truly affect the direction of music education in the coming years. Continuing the efforts of his predecessor, Lilla Belle Pitts, he presided over a national conference in Cleveland in 1946 that featured lectures and demonstrations following the "Widening Horizons for Music Education" theme established by Pitts two years previously in St. Louis.
Kendel also drafted an Advancement Program for MENC that included public and community relations, budgets, research, curriculum, and recruitment of future teachers. As part of the program, he took great strides to improve the relationship between the national, regional, and state leadership of MENC by ensuring that every committee associated with the Advancement Program contained representatives from all levels of the organization.
From his 1955 article about keyboard training:
"There is no intention or recommendation here that we advocate a plan for making all our children expert pianists. However, from the experiments that have been conducted, there is reason to believe that the keyboard experience program, conducted in conjunction with the regular classroom work of the third, fourth or fifth grades, presents a type of group training that can and should have serious attention if we believe in our basic principle that every pupil should have the fullest possible opportunity to develop his interest and ability to participate in and enjoy music."
In "After A Cappella—What?":
"The danger lies in the tendency of the choirs to do all one type of music. The result is that the programs lack variety .... This gives the chorus a narrow musical experience."
Luther A. Richman (1946-48)
Luther Anton Richman served as a major force in music education, first as a leader in Virginia, and later as President of MENC. Richman wrote and spoke about the special problems of music education in the rural school and provided inspired leadership as Virginia's first State Supervisor of Music and Arts. While working in Virginia, he encouraged the formation of the Virginia Music Educators Association, inaugurated the first state music festival, and began the first state music camp.
As the MENC President, Richman continued his predecessor's work with the Advancement Program, which promoted relationships between divisional, state, and national organizations. In 1947 he forged an agreement with the American Association of School Administrators, American Federation of Musicians, and MENC that resulted in the publication of the Code of Ethics, which outlined what events were appropriate for school musicians.
1938 from a Virginia State Department of Education publication:
"It is the responsibility of organized education to make experiences in the arts available for every school child. Music and the other arts, therefore, occupy an important place in the offerings of the present day school. Since music is capable of aiding in the spiritual, intellectual, emotional, social, and physical growth of the child, it must be given serious consideration by every teacher and school administrator, in order to present a well balanced educational program."
From a 1942 article "Music Education in the Southern States":
"The important place that music holds in building citizen morale is well established ... Music teachers must be more sensitive to the whole field of education and develop a real appreciation and understanding of the other areas of learning, as well as a clear-cut knowledge of their own responsibility to the whole. Too many of us are prone to allow ourselves to be set apart from the total picture, so that we become a twig on the tree of education rather than one of its roots!"
Charles M. Dennis (1948-50)
When Charles M. Dennis took office as MENC's president in 1948, he was already a household name among the organization's members. Dennis had replaced Edward Bailey Birge as chairman of the editorial board of the Music Educators Journal in mid-1944 when the organization operated under wartime restrictions, including a paper shortage. He retained the operation of MEJ until handing over the duties to Marguerite Hood in 1949 to devote his energies to his presidency. Dennis also participated as a member of the Music Education Research Council and served as chairman of the International Conference for Music Education held in Brussels and as chairman of the Committee for Senior High Curriculum.
Dennis was director of music for the San Francisco Public Schools until his retirement in 1955. In a tribute written upon Dennis's retirement, Meyer M. Cahn stated, "His musical standards are high. He does not surrender to the false values of virtuosity, flamboyance, and colorism. He knows that music has more to give than these qualities, and he wants the children to know this, too."
"It might well be that the growth of music education of necessity has been along certain lines. Social conditions largely determine the direction of much of education. At least let us assume that the form of our development was inevitable under the conditions of our American type of existence during the first third of this century. Many of us can recall those years as a period of comparative relaxation. On the contrary, life in these days is so different, so frightening, so complex that we are forced to reexamine our attitudes, our intentions, our achievements and ask ourselves if these are worthy or even adequate.
"Let us consider three phases of life where these changes are most apparent and directly affect our field: educational, political, spiritual. It is, of course, impossible to isolate them from each other; they are interdependent, but each demands consideration.
"In education let us do less teaching of music and more teaching of children."
Originally printed anonymously over a period of years, the following appeared at the end of "Charles M. Dennis, Music Educator":
What Do I Get out of My MENC Membership?
"A clear conscience: By being a member I drop isolationism and join thousands of my colleagues throughout America who are trying to advance the purposes of our profession. I find no fun in being a lone wolf and I don't like the implication of being a "free rider" or enjoying advantages which the energy and cash of others have made possible.
"Professional stimulation: Contact with school musicians, particularly in fields other than my own, has done much to broaden my conception of music education and deepen my conviction of its value. My own work has improved because of the ideas picked up in observing good results achieved by others. I've also discovered a number of swell people who otherwise would have remained strangers.
"Professional pride: The American school music movement is a phenomenon in educational history. Other nations are sending their experts to learn how we do it so that they can develop along similar lines. There may be little I can admire in my own accomplishments, but my associates throughout the country are doing such astounding things that I am proud to be a part, to any degree, of an organization which has changed the musical culture of the United States within a few decades. There are times when everyone should stand up and be counted. To be a member of MENC requires little courage and less than a half-day's pay.
"Professional recognition: The conference offers me abundant opportunity to contribute services for which I may be uniquely equipped. In this way others may learn of my abilities and evaluate them justly. I have observed non-members with fine talent and successful in their jobs, who, when seeking advancement, found themselves passed over primarily because they were unknown to the profession-at-large. If school administrators favor applicants who rate with their colleagues why should I ignore such an opportunity to prove my mettle to those outside my own locality?"
A member of the MENC
Marguerite V. Hood (1950-52)
Marguerite Vivian Hood was a prominent music educator, a leading figure nationally and internationally, and a dedicated teacher throughout her career. Hood began her service to the MENC as President of the North Central Division (1945-47). In 1949 she became Chair of the Editorial Board of Music Educators Journal, replacing Charles M. Dennis as he focused his attention on the presidency.
Following her presidency, Hood served as chairman of the MENC commission on accreditation. In 1953 she began her association with the International Society for Music Education, attending the first meeting in Brussels, and all the subsequent meetings in Warsaw. Hood was instrumental in establishing the Journal of Research in Music Education, wrote a number of articles for the journal, was author and contributing editor for a number of music textbooks for children, and was a leader in music education on various fronts.
From a 1952 article entitled Music in American Education “Our Heritage Demands Action, Not Defense," Music Educators Journal:
"Fortunately, the morale of music educators is generally good. We like our work, we see endless possibilities for good results from it, and we are so busy trying to do it well that we have little time to be distracted by petty attacks. One wonderful thing about music education is that, as a profession, instead of worrying about criticisms, it takes a refreshing enjoyment from self-evaluation, and constantly improves itself.
"We are diametrically opposed to the ridiculous premise which has sometimes existed that music educators need not be real and skillful musicians. No one has to sell us on the necessity for fine musicianship, although it is often difficult to bring attention to the fact that courses that were originally planned for the training of skilled concert performers or composers sometimes waste many precious college hours without achieving much in the way of specialized technical skills needed by music educators. We even face the amazing idea that second best in teachers and in practice facilities will suffice to make good musicians of music education students, but not of anyone else!
"We cry for professional recognition, but sometimes forget that such recognition must be preceded by active participation in many affairs—civic, musical and educations—not just as directors of performing organizations, but as interested, intelligent participants in the planning and working out of general activities of the groups.
"Music education has nothing to fear but itself and its own failure to be part of the world around it and its failure to assert itself as a profession regularly and consistently, not just when its own rights and privileges are attacked. No heritage as great as ours can be maintained by good teaching only, or even by a fine defense. The responsibility is ours for constructive action, with music educators learning to contribute their part to leadership not only in this, our won field, but also in all related fields that affect us, in both local and widespread situations."
Music Educators Hall of Fame 1986
Ralph E. Rush (1952-54)
"The music teaching world should recognize for its own good, as well as for its effective service to all children, youth and adults, that it cannot work in a vacuum. Music education leadership must constantly work to establish public confidence in our profession. I do not agree with a speaker who recently said that modern education had become a glorified form of baby-sitting. Rather I believe that all true music educators know the full import of the saying, 'Time cannot ever bring back an opportunity swept away,' and are constantly striving to make every opportunity for musical living available to all under their guidance. We are no longer in a position whereby we must defend music education, but we must constantly demonstrate and do something positive for our cause."
Music Educators Journal, Feb-March 1954
Robert A. Choate (1954-56)
Robert A. Choate was well known and respected as an educator, musician, administrator, and author. As a longtime member of MENC, he served the organization in a variety of ways. He was chair of the Editorial Board from 1950 until 1954 when he took office as president. As president, he was credited with organizing and directing ten commissions for the study of music education within the United States. He served as chair of the States Assembly from 1956-58, a member of the Editorial Board for the Music Educators Journal in 1962, and chair of the Publications Committee in 1964. In 1967 he directed the Tanglewood Symposium Project.
Choate's leadership was not limited to MENC; he was also involved in countless educational and cultural organizations. He was a member of the board of directors of the Oakland Symphony Association, chair of the California School Supervisors Association, director of the New England Opera Theatre, chair of the music committee of the Boston Arts Festival, president of the Boston Chamber Music Society, a trustee of the Boston Opera Group, and a member of the board of directors of the of the Massachusetts Council for Humanities. In addition, he was on the editorial board of the Journal of Aesthetic Education, co-author of Music of Our Time, and senior author of New Dimensions in Music. Choate was also known for his work as professor of music and dean of the Fine and Applied Arts School at Boston University. He was gentle and unassuming and kept in touch with the grassroots of the profession, yet effected change at the highest levels.
From the 1968 "Tanglewood Declaration":
"The arts afford continuity with the aesthetic tradition in man's history. Music and other fine arts, largely nonverbal in nature, reach close to the social, psychological, and physiological roots of man in his search for identity and self-realization.
"Educators must accept the responsibility for devoting opportunities which meet man's individual needs and the needs of a society plagued by the consequences of changing values, alienation, hostility between generations, racial and international tensions, and the challenges of a new leisure."
Music Educators Hall of Fame 1986
William B. McBride (1956-58)
William B. McBride presided over MENC as president for the organization's Golden Anniversary in 1957. He worked diligently with past-president Lilla Belle Pitts to encourage all of the MENC Division conferences to focus heavily on this important milestone and helped to provide guidance to the organization as it moved into a new era.
Prior to his term as president, William B. McBride served two years as the director of the Ohio State Marching band, taking over from Manley Whitcomb who had left for Army service the year before. Most universities could barely put together small pep bands during this time (most bands were all male and were forced to fold as members were drafted into the service). Due to the extraordinary efforts of McBride, Ohio State kept a marching band on the field. Personnel changed constantly, often at the last minute as the result of the draft or sickness. Brass players were scarce, so woodwind players and vocalists were allowed to join. Often players were recruited the mornings of performances to fill in vacancies.
"If we hope to achieve a truly professional status, we probably will have to follow the patterns of those occupations which currently are accepted by society as professions. Analysis of the patterns indicates that there are at least five different typical characteristics:
1. A profession serves society.
2. A profession has a philosophy and code of ethics.
3. A profession regulates most aspects of the preparation and practice of its members.
4. A recognized profession demands that its practitioners continue their professional growth after initial preparation.
5. A recognized profession possesses a body of specialized knowledge and skills.
"These things will not come about easily or quickly. Selfishness, ambition, prejudice, short-sightedness, ineptitude—all are common deterrents. Nevertheless, a dedication will develop among all of us to the degree that we concern ourselves with the problems of professionalism, and only through professional service can we hope to reap the results of high professional status and social recognition—and economic security—which we are convinced our calling deserves."
Karl E. Ernst (1958-60)
Prior to his presidency of MENC, Karl D. Ernst was Chairman of the Music Educators Journal Editorial Board from 1954-58. As chair of MEJ, he made some changes to the look of the journal, with color becoming a more important factor. During the Atlantic City MENC convention, under his presidency, MENC assisted a group of choral music teachers in holding a meeting in conjunction with the convention. This original meeting resulted in the creation of the American Choral Directors Association.
In 1967, he served as one of the moderators at the Tanglewood Symposium meetings. Ernst also participated in the production of a number of publications, including working as editor on the Birchard music series, and a book with Charles Gary, Music in General Education.
"The omnipresence of music in our society—and, in fact, in most societies since the dawn of history—argues that music satisfies fundamental human needs."
Allen P. Britton (1960-62)
Allen Perdue Britton was a prominent figure in American music education and in musicology. Beyond his term as MENC president, he also served as president of the Sonneck Society for American Music, was heavily involved in the Julliard Repertory Project, and worked on countless other boards and committees. Britton was band director in the public schools of Griffith, Indiana, and at Eastern Illinois University before WWII. Between 1943-1946 he served a two-and-a-half year stint in the Army, mostly playing in dance bands at service clubs, and he served with the military police in the Camp Custer German prisoner of war camp. Britton received a B.S. in Instrumental Music, M.A. in Education from the University of Illinois, and a Ph.D. in Musicology from the University of Michigan. He was the founding editor of the MENC Published Journal of Research in Music Education. While at Michigan he was also director of the University Division of the national Music Camp at Interlochen. He was dean and professor emeritus in music education at the University of Michigan School of Music.
From Mark and Gary's 1996 Contemporary Music Education:
"Music, as one of the seven liberal arts, has formed an integral part of the educational systems of Western civilization from Hellenic times to the present. Thus, the position of music in education historically speaking, is one of great strength. Unfortunately, this fact seems to be one of which most educators, including music educators, remain unaware. As a result, the defense of music in the curriculum is often approached as if something new were being dealt with. Lacking the assurance which a knowledge of history could provide, many who seek to justify the present place of music in American schools tend to place too heavy a reliance upon ancillary values which music may certainly serve but which cannot, in the end, constitute its justification. Plato, of course, is the original offender in this regard; his general view that the essential value of music lies in its social usefulness seems to be as alive today as ever.
"Many American music educators have demonstrated what may be considered an easy readiness to climb aboard any intellectual bandwagon which happens to be near by, and to trust it to arrive at destinations appropriate for music educators, or worse, to adopt its destinations as their own without careful enough scrutiny of the intellectual properties involved."
From "Thank You, Mr. President," Music Educators Journal, 1961:
"While this account of the Kennedy concern for the arts is by no means exhaustive, perhaps it will serve as sufficient indication of the high patronage and support now emanating from the most powerful position in this country. Undoubtedly the arts have always sprung from the people. According to some sources, however, the arts have reached their highest peaks only when liberally supported by highly placed personages. Another historical contention is that the arts flourish in times of crisis. Both of these conditions seem fully met today."
Music Educators Hall of Fame 1986
Alex H. Zimmerman (1962-64)
"It is my privilege, as President of the MENC, to announce that on April 30, 1963, membership totals in the professional organization passed the forty-one thousand mark."
"Membership in the MENC provides the opportunity of helping all music educators fulfill the mission of their profession and their professional organization. This is true because the missions of both are synonymous."
Alex H. Zimmerman
Music Educators Journal, June-July 1963
Paul Van Bodegraven (1964-66)
As president of MENC, Paul Van Bodegraven worked diligently to preserve the history of the organization. He instituted a program to interview the remaining living founders of the organization to preserve their memories of MENC heritage. Van Bodegraven also worked with executive secretary Vanett Lawler to make arrangements with the University of Maryland to house the official MENC archives. Prior to his presidency, he served on the editorial board of Music Educators Journal and as a member of the Music Education Research Council.
Van Bodegraven worked as chairman of the Department of Music Education, School of Education, New York University, supervisor of music for Port Washington, New York, and as a faculty member of MacMurray College and the University of Missouri. He held a bachelor's degree from Oberlin College, and master's and doctorate degrees from the School of Education, New York University.
"It is understandable that those of us in the arts have been slow to accept the thesis that: Whatever exists at all, exists in some amount; anything that exists in amount can be measured; but there is a growing conviction that the program of music education has matured to a point where there should be a core of specific and measurable outcomes of experiences in all phases of music and these outcomes should be common for all students, whether they are trained in Oregon, Alabama, or Ohio."
Music Educators Journal, June-July 1965
Music Educators Hall of Fame 1988
Louis G. Wersen (1966-68)
As MENC president, Louis G. Wersen represented MENC at the Tanglewood Symposium in 1967, which had far-reaching effects on the direction of music in the American classroom. Prior to his term as president, Wersen served as president of the MENC Northwest Division. Wersen also chaired the National Building Fund Campaign to develop funds for and build the MENC headquarters on Association Drive in Reston, Virginia. He also served as president of the National High School Orchestra Association and the National School Orchestra and Band Association. He was a member of advisory boards to the Department of State, ASCAP, the Julliard Repertory Project, and the Presser Foundation.
Wersen worked as director of music education in Philadelphia and taught in Aberdeen and Tacoma, Washington. He held bachelor's and master's degrees from Washington State University, and did graduate work at the University of California and Teachers College, Columbia University.
"We have said that music exists because people need music. All people do not 'need' music in the same way, and the exact nature and origin of this 'need' is obscure. There can be no doubt, however, that the way in which man 'needs' music is closely related to the way in which he sees himself as an individual."
President's speech at the six division MENC conference, 1967
Music Educators Hall of Fame 1986
Wiley L. Housewright (1968-70)
Wiley Housewright received his bachelor's degree in music education from North Texas State University, which honored him with its Distinguished Alumni Award in 1968. His graduate studies in music and music education led to a master's degree from Columbia University and a doctorate from New York University. He taught at the University of Texas, served as an officer in the U.S. Army, was a guest lecturer at numerous institutions, and taught in the public schools of New York and Texas. Housewright joined the faculty of Florida State University in 1947, served the School of Music as professor and conductor of the University Singers, and in 1961 was honored by the University as a Distinguished Professor. He was appointed Dean of the School of Music in 1966, a position he held until his retirement in 1979.
Housewright was awarded a Fullbright Grant in 1956 to teach and for research at Doshisha University and Kobe Jogakuin College in Japan. He was a member of the Academic Music Advisory Panel of the U.S. Department of State's International Cultural Presentations program, and in 1960 he made a field survey of South America for the U.S. Department of State. He served on the Ford Foundation's Advisory Board in Humanities and the Arts and the Policy Committee of the Contemporary Music Project. He was a member of the Committee of the American Council of Learned Societies, and in 1961 was appointed to the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO. Through the National Education Association, he and two other authors designed programs in the arts for gifted secondary school children under a Carnegie Corporation Grant. His numerous international papers include presentations to the International Society for Music Education and the International Symposium on Music Education, sponsored by UNESCO and the Swedish National Government. Dr. Housewright also served on the Executive Board of the National Society for the Schools of Music, and was a member of the Executive Board of the College Music Society. As MENC President, Housewright was very active in the 1967 Tanglewood Symposium, including chairing the committee on Music of our Time, and was involved in every step of the implementation and defense of many of the findings of Tanglewood. His leading role in these activities linked him appropriately to the recent Vision 2020 project, updating and expanding the vision anticipated by Tanglewood.
During retirement, Wiley Housewright has continued his valuable research in music, producing two definitive books, A History of Music and Dance in Florida, 1565-1865 and An Anthology of Music in Early Florida.
"There is much to be gained from the study of any musical creation. Rock, soul, blues, folk, and jazz cannot be ignored. To delimit concert halls, schools, and colleges to a steady diet of the 'masters' is as absurd as permitting only Euripides, Shakespeare, and Molière to be performed in the theater. Music education must encompass all music."
"If it is true that there is a dynamism in conflict then music education today is approaching its most dynamic moment. Everywhere there is confrontation that challenges us to reassess our accomplishments, to reinterpret our role, to reformulate our causes, to revitalize, our energies, and to reconstitute our profession."
Wiley L. Housewright
Music Educators Journal, May 1969
Music Educators Hall of Fame 1994
Lowell Mason Fellows 2002
Frances M. Andrews (1970-72)
Prior to her term as MENC president, Frances M. Andrews served as president of the MENC Eastern Division, was a member of the Editorial Board of the Music Educators Journal and the MENC Music Education Research Council, and was an editorial associate for the Journal of Research in Music Education.
Andrews worked as professor and head of the music education department of Penn State University, University Park. She was a lecturer, clinician, and workshop leader in many schools and universities, and had extensive experience as a music teacher, supervisor, and director of performing organizations in vocal and instrumental music on elementary and secondary levels. She received her master's and doctor's degrees from The Pennsylvania State University.
"My message to you is that the Music Educators National Conference is your—our—organization, and that you—we—are responsible for change. We can accept this responsibility, or we can let it go by default."
"My own definition of change would be: Change is a response on the part of a person or group of persons, however organized, to altered conditions."
Music Educators Journal, May 1971
Jack E. Schaeffer (1972-74)
Jack E. Schaeffer was an active MENC leader from the Northwest Division. In addition to his term as MENC president, he served as president and vice-president of the Washington Music Educators Association and as president of the MENC Northwest Division. He also served as a member of the Project Policy Committee of the Contemporary Music Project (CMP), working with the program to implement projects associated with the Northwest region of CMP's Institutes for Music in Contemporary Education.
Schaeffer worked as the director of music education for Seattle, Washington, public schools. Under his direction a number of pilot programs in the Seattle School system were introduced, such as class piano programs at the junior high level, class organ in the elementary schools, use of recorders at both levels, and introduction of African-American music in the curriculum.
"We hear it said that music educators talk to themselves too much. Through MENC, however, the music education message has been spread to many other professional, governmental, and community organizations.
"There may have been a time when an organization like MENC could continue to exist just because it was there—because it had headquarters staff, continuity in leadership, an annual budget, a professional journal, and other manifestations of stability. But no more.
"Unlike many professional associations, MENC is not just an office in the nation's capital; rather it is the combined thoughts, actions, and drives of thousands upon thousands of individuals, each with a voice that can be heard.
"Each member of MENC has equal access to the governing structure. And the nature of that structure, including associated organizations for those with specialized interests, keeps the leadership close to the entire membership."
Music Educators Journal, January, 1974
Charles H. Benner (1974-76)
As president, Charles H. Benner oversaw MENC during its transition from being an associated organization of the National Education Association sharing a building with the NEA in Washington, DC, to becoming a completely self-ssupporting organization, moving into its own building in Reston, Virginia. Prior to his term as MENC president, he served as president of the Ohio Music Education Association and as president of the MENC North Central Division. He also served on the General Music Project Committee responsible for the publication Music in General Education.
Charles H. Benner currently serves as professor emeritus of music education at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Prior to his appointment at Cincinnati in 1968, he was a member of the faculty of the School of Music, The Ohio State University, Columbus, for eleven years. He has also taught instrumental and elementary music in various Ohio public schools.
"We are being called upon to assume roles not as mere teacher/musician specialists but as multidimensional educators. Any or all of us may be called upon to assume these larger roles regardless of how cozily isolated and comfortable—or uncomfortable—we currently are.
"Our knowledge, our insights into musical behavior, and our resources cannot go untended, unrevitalized, or unstretched. Each of us must gain the capability to meet the challenges of music education in changing social and instructional settings."
Music Educators Journal, May 1975
Robert H. Klotman (1976-78)
Robert H. Klotman is credited with initiating MENC's Government Relations program, which continues to thrive today. He is well known for his extensive work in string pedagogy, his leadership in professional organizations such as ASTA and MENC, and his teaching at Indiana University.
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Klotman received a Bachelor's in education from Ohio Northern University, a Master's in music from Western Reserve University, and an Ed.D. in music education from Teachers College, Columbia University. He taught vocal and instrumental music on all levels, and served as professor of music education at Indiana University from 1969 to 1988, where he was music education chair for 15 years. He has also been director of music in the Akron, Ohio, public schools and Detroit Public Schools. Additionally, he has conducted all-state and honors orchestra performances, school, community, and professional music performances nationally and internationally, and has been a violinist with the Cleveland Philharmonic, the Ballet Russe, and the Sadler Wells Ballet Company.
A respected leader, Klotman has held many positions within MENC and other organizations, including chair of the Teacher Education Commission, 1968-72; president, North Central Division, 1972-74; national president, 1976-78; chair of the Music Educators Hall of Fame, 1996-2002; and president of the American String Teachers Association, 1962-64. He has been a clinician at numerous state, national, and international conventions, has written many books and articles in professional journals, and is composer, editor, and arranger of music for school orchestras. His honors and awards include Outstanding Hoosier Musician, 1986; Sagamore of the Wabash (state of Indiana award for distinguished achievement), 1991; distinguished service awards from MENC and ASTA; citations from the National Association of Negro Musicians, the New York Chapter of the Black Music Caucus, and the Children's Concert Society of Akron, Ohio; and the MENC Hall of Fame, 2004.
"Music educators cannot isolate themselves from the total society. As individuals and as a group, we must work with all organizations and in every segment of our communities. We must be in constant communication with people who have impact on decision-making in the schools, both in and out of the educational matrix. Much of the success of our organization will depend on its ability to relate to all segments of contemporary society.
"Finally, MENC must be in the forefront of education and educational development. In all areas of music education, the organization must reflect the most advanced thinking in order to meet the challenging demands of a dynamic, changing society."
Music Educators Journal, January 1974
Music Educators Hall of Fame 2004
Lowell Mason Fellows 2004
James A. Mason (1978-80)
James A. Mason has been an active member of MENC throughout his career as a music educator. In addition to his term as MENC president, he served as president of the MENC Western Division, as a member of the MENC Music Education Research Council, and as chairman of the MENC Council of Associated Organization Presidents. He was also active in a number of national committees focused on developing more effective music programs, including the Manhattanville Music Curriculum Project, the MENC Teacher Education Commission, and the National Assessment for Educational Progress.
As an educator, Mason worked as the chairman of music education at Brigham Young University; was visiting professor at Indiana University, Northwestern University, Cincinnati College-Conservatory, the University of Cincinnati, and the University of Texas at Austin; and taught music at all levels from the fourth grade through graduate school. He has also been the editor of Orchestra News, the Utah Music Educator, and the Research News column in the Journal of Research in Music Education. He was cofounder and first president of the Utah Valley Symphony Orchestra and conducted the Utah Valley Youth Orchestra.
"Perhaps our thrust needs to be to pull all music educators together—regardless of our specialized interests—to ensure that music in the school will have the greatest possible impact on all students. We must continue to 'woo' society, not only with our public relations programs but also with our excellent performing groups. And finally, we need to help all Americans realize that education is a lifelong process, from infancy to old age, and that music is crucial to education at all of these levels."
Music Educators Journal, December 1975
Mary E. Hoffman (1980-82)
Mary E. Hoffman was a well-known figure in music education in Illinois and throughout the Eastern and Midwestern United States. She worked as professor of music education at the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign for nearly 20 years. Before that, she worked as supervisor of elementary and junior high music in Milwaukee schools, as elementary music supervisor in Philadelphia schools, and as vocal music teacher in Delaware, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. Hoffman served as guest conductor for countless district and all-state choruses and as general clinician at MENC division and national conferences.
Prior to her term as president, Hoffman served as president of the MENC North Central Division, as a member of the MENC Publications Planning Committee, and as chair of the MENC executive director search committee in 1976. She was also a president of the Wisconsin Music Educators Conference.
"A personal commitment to music education implies enthusiasm for sharing one's knowledge with another person. It means both being a superb musician and having the ability to understand fully the way students of all ages learn music. We must ask of ourselves and our nation the ominous question: 'What would our world be like without music?'"
Music Educators Journal, Jan. 1978
Music Educators Hall of Fame 1998
Russell P. Getz (1982-84)
Russell P. Getz was an active figure in music education, serving as music advisor and coordinator of the arts for the Pennsylvania Department of Public Instruction and as chief of the Division of Arts and Humanities of the Pennsylvania Department of Education. He also founded, supervised, and taught at the Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Arts, and worked as professor of music at Gettysburg College, chairman of the music department at the Hempfield, Pennsylvania, school district, and taught at Millersville State College. Getz also published articles in the Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians as well as in MENC publications. In additional to his term as president of MENC, Getz served as MENC Eastern Division president and as a member of the National Commission on Instruction.
"While seeking needed music industry support, MENC must maintain its program of furnishing quality publications and beneficial and convenient in-service conferences. MENC must be the umbrella under which adherents to various methodologies and members of special interest organizations are welcomed to realize the benefits of belonging to the greater unity. Members must be shown that their leaders are willing and able to listen to local as well as state and national concerns."
Music Educators Journal, Dec. 1979
Paul R. Lehman (1984-86)
In addition to serving as national president of MENC, Paul R. Lehman chaired the groups that prepared the national voluntary standards in music, the opportunity-to-learn standards, and the performance standards for music in the United States. He also served MENC as chair of the National Commission on Instruction and the Music Education Research Council and as a member of the editorial committee and as book review editor of the Journal of Research in Music Education. He is a member of the Music Educators Hall of Fame and an Honorary Life member of the International Society for Music Education (ISME). He has served as a member of the Board of Directors of ISME and as a member of the Executive Board of the College Music Society (CMS). He is the author of approximately 200 publications on education reform, curriculum, teacher education, and assessment in music.
Lehman, currently Professor Emeritus of Music Education at the University of Michigan, taught in the public schools of Ohio and at the University of Colorado, the University of Kentucky, and the Eastman School of Music. He also held an appointment as music specialist with the United States Department of Education in Washington.
"Music is one of the most powerful, most compelling, and most glorious manifestations of every cultural heritage. All of us ought to be able to understand, enjoy, and participate fully in our musical environment."
"Teaching is an art. It cannot be reduced to formulas or recipes. It requires a vast amount of spontaneity and an enormous ability to improvise. It's not a science, but it can have a basis in research. There are clear relationships between things teachers do and things students learn. The task of teacher education is to help teachers apply what is known about these relationships."
"Music educators have something to give to the youth of America that no one else can give them; and it's something that, once given, can never be taken away. It is the beauty and joy of music. Let's make the most of this marvelous opportunity."
(All three from Music Educators Journal, Grand Masters Series, March 2002)
Music Educators Hall of Fame 2000
Lowell Mason Fellows 2002
Donald L. Corbett (1986-88)
Donald L. Corbett substantially influenced music education in the state of Kansas and in the United States as a whole. Serving as an adjudicator for over forty years, he traveled long distances to assess bands on their marching programs or concert literature. Corbett was well known across the United States for his adjudicating and was in constant demand, due to a high degree of professionalism. As a music educator, he spent 16 years at the high school level and 24 years at Wichita State University, serving 16 years as the Director of Graduate Music studies. Corbett was instrumental in starting the Kansas Bandmasters Association and is a 45-year member of Kansas Music Educators Association, serving a term as president and working as its Executive Director until his recent retirement.
In addition to his term as MENC president, Corbett served as president of the Southwest Division. He was appointed to the National Association for Schools of Music Task Force on State Certification in 1981.
"The main challenge facing MENC will be to see that music remains in the public schools. With current rhetoric concerning the effectiveness of education, MENC must be prepared to assist its members in every way possible. The resources of MENC can be a significant force in the defense of our profession."
Music Educators Journal, Dec. 1983
Lowell Mason Fellows 2003