The Eras

The Roaring 20s saw the birth of the University of Miami, with its Conservatory of Music. The years that followed were turbulent, starting with the 1926 hurricane that struck Miami just before classes started, the stock market crash of 1928, and the Great Depression. May Brigel, Director of Public School Music, guided instruction for undergraduate majors until 1932. 

Brigel was followed by Frances Hovey Berg, who provided stabilty for the program through 1962.  The Ibis Yearbook of 1943 (p. 12) portrays how the Music School coped during World War II:

Since early September, the Music School has been in so many places that it is no oddity to see “Pied Piper” profs leading their musical children all over the Gables for an available room. Driven from the Le Jeune building by neighbors’ petitions — some gremlin left the violin and brass sections on after dark — the Music School moved westward, establishing itself in one of the girls’ dormitories long enough to move in a dozen pianos and violin stands and to discover that the female enrollment was much greater than expected . . . Weary from carrying their heavy instruments, the faculty decided that the ol’ Music Workshop, known as Granada, was the best building around, and with some lumber this former furniture-factory could easily be partitioned into soundproof teaching studios and 12 practice rooms. This decided, carpenters added their rhythmic sawing to the rest of the noise and the Music School had a permanent address. Music theory and education held classes in the Main building, until the Navy sliced off the second floor for themselves ; then back came the classes to Granada. During these excursions, the faculty members were calm and tolerated the game of “hide and seek” with their students. Despite the war’s infringement upon male students and room space, the profs continued their courses, seriously and conscientiously, and the students paced beside them. When we asked Dean Bertha Foster what the music school accomplished this year, she retorted, “Above all, we competed with Physical Training classes.” 

Thomas Collins joined the faculty in 1946, first as an instructor of woodwinds. He became chair of music education in 1951, and quickly asserted leadership in establishing a master of music education degree program (1956) for the school of music.

Harriett Nordholm brought her expertise in general music to the department in 1957.  Her national reputation as a leader in MENC (former Minnesotat MEA president, North Central Division President, National Executive Board) added luster to the department's reputation.

The music school facilities expanded with the construction of the Arnold Volpe building (1954), the Henry Fillmore Band Hall (1958), Albert Pick Music Library (1958), Caroline Broby Choral Hall (1960), Nancy Greene Symphony Hall (1960), and the Bertha Foster Memorial Bulding (1960, 1st floor only).

The 1960s were a time of great social change, marked by the Civil Rights movement and the Vietnam War, and by technological growth, seen in the 1st lunar landing (1969). The Woodstock Music and Art Fair of 1969 was a pivotal moment in American counterculture history, symbolizing the ideals of peace, love, and unity through music  amidst the turbulent backdrop of mass protests, political assassinations, and a rebellion against established norms--it is often seen as a defining event of the 1960s generation. 

The music education program also experienced many changes during the 1960s.  Frances Bergh retired in 1962 after 30 years of service, and new faculty arrived in rapid succession: Ted Crager (1965), Lee Kjelsen (1967), Neal Glenn (1968), James Fitzpatrick (1969), and John Kinyon (1969). 

The PhD in Music education was announced in 1967, and the first dissertation was completed in 1970. The Music Therapy program was established in 1969 and housed within the Department of Music Education.

The 1970s, evoking images of nature-loving hippies, lava lamps, bell bottoms, and shag carpeting, saw continued unrest about the war and concern for equality for women, gays and lesbians, African Americans, Native Americans, and other marginalized people. It witnessed the Watergate scandal (1972), the first Earth Day (1970), the Apple II personal computer (1977), VHS tapes (1977) and new popular music genres such as disco, punk rock, and funk.  The School of Music facilities expanded with the addition of a second floor to the Bertha Foster Building in 1970 (note the dedicated space for music education in the diagram), the Handelmann Institute of Recorded Sound (1970), and Maurice Gusman auditorium (1975).

The leadership of Ted Crager (music education professor and Associate Dean) established the first music engineering degree in higher education (1975).  He also was instrumental in the implementation of other unusual interdisciplinary degree probrams at the University of Miami including Music Merchandising, Studio Music and Jazz, Musical Theater, Music Therapy, and Studio Writing and Production (Score magazine, 1990 p. 3.)

The generosity of Ruth Schmidt (alum, 1957) established a fund that is still benefiting the department today (photo and caption from Score Magazine, 1979). 

Department chairs during these years were Lee Kjelson (1968-1974) and Neal Glenn (1974-80).

During the 1980s IBM's personal computer the IBM PC (1981), running on Microsoft's MS-DOS operating system, competed with Dell Computer Corporation (1987) and with Apple's Macintosh computer (1984) and its revolutionary Graphical User Interface of icons, windows, and mouse. The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off (1981). Reaganomics held sway, AIDS ravaged the United States, and blockbuster movies and MTV videos reshaped pop culture. U.S. and U.S.S.R. tensions eased between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

In the music education department, Brian Busch was hired (1979) to fill the vacancy left by the death of James Fitzpatrick, J. David Boyle was hired after Neal Glenn retired (1981), followed by the husband and wife team of Nicholas DeCarbo and Joyce Jordan (1982). With their arrival the department began hosting annual Music Education Day workshops for local music teachers and the annual Honor Band Festival for local high schoolers.

During the 1990s the world's attention was drawn towards the Iraq invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and subsequent U.S. involvement (Operation Desert Storm), the seige of the Branch Davidians religious sect in Waco (1993), the end of apartheid in South Africa (1994), the genocide of Tsutsis in Rwanda (1994), the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City (1995), the trial of O. J. Simpson (1995), and the shooting at Columbine High School (1999). NASA launched the Hubble telescope (1993) and its Pathfinder spacecraft put a robotic rover on Mars (1997). The internet began to be noticed (1991) and quickly grew in use with the help of search engines like Yahoo! (1994) and Google (1997) and on-line retailers like Amazon (1994). Movies became available on DVDs (1995). Cultural touchstones included sitcoms (Seinfeld, Friends, Saved by the Bell, The Simpsons), the Harry Potter books and movies, mullet hairstyles, and rollerblades. Popular music genres included hip hop rappers (Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G, Nas, Jay-Z, and Snoop Dog), boy bands and girl bands (Backstreet Boys, N’Sync, Spice Girls), and grunge (Nirvana, Pearl Jam).

During Summer 1994, the music education department hosted the 15th Research Commission Seminar of the International Society for Music Education. Richard Fiese (hired 1995) returned to teach at his alma mater (MM 1986, PhD 1989).

The September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center was a defining event of the 2000s decade, impacting global politics and culture. The decade ended with a global financial crisis (2008), leading to the Great Recession. The decade saw several devastating natural disasters, including the Indian Ocean tsunami (2004), Hurricane Katrina (2005), and the Sichuan earthquake (2008). In 2001, Apple changed the way we listened to music forever with the release of the iPod and digital MP3s, allowing listeners to carry their entire music libraries in their pockets. Mashups and Auto-tune creations quickly followed. The 2000s saw the rise of pop-punk and emo, and artists like Britney Spears, Eminem, and Linkin Park dominated the charts. Reality TV (Survivor, American Idol, Dancing with the Stars) captured huge audiences.

The music school facilities added with the L. Austin Weeks Center for Recording and Performance (1990) and the Marta and L. Austin Weeks Music Library and Technology Center (2005). Phillip and Patricia Frost gifted $33 million to the university in 2003 for the school, which was renamed the Phillip and Patricia Frost School of Music. 

David Boyle retired in 2000 and was succeeded by Edward Asmus (2000).  Richard Fiese left in 2000 and the department relied on visiting professors Stanley and Lois Schleuter and George Heller for two years until hiring Stephen Zdzinski in 2002. 

Department chairs during this era were Lee Kjelson (1980-1983), J. David Boyle (1983-1995), and Joyce Jordan-DeCarbo (1995-2011),

The 2010s saw the rise of social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter becoming integral to daily life, because smartphones with touch screens had become ubiquitous (Apple had launched its iPhone in 2007). These tools facilitated social movements like Occupy Wallstreet (2011), #BlackLivesMatter (2013), and #MeToo (2017). Gun violence against schoolchildren marred the decade, including attacks at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and dozens of others. Several massive hurricanes and tropical storms hit the United States in the 2010s, starting with Sandy (2012), then Harvey, Irma and Maria (2017) and Michael (2018).  Britain decided to leave the European Union (Brexit) in 2016. Streaming services like Netflix gradually replaced VHS and DVD rental services. Superhero films, like those in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, became a dominant force in the entertainment industry. The decade saw the musical and cultural dominance of dance-pop, electronic dance music, hipster culture and electropop.

School facilities made major strides forward with the Patricia Louise Frost Music Studios (2015), the Messinger Music Executive Building (2018 -- formerly the Handleman Institute for Recorded Sound), and the Knight Center for Innovation (2023).

Brian Powell joined the music education department in 2010 with a joint appointment in strings. The vacancies due to the retirements of Nicholas DeCarbo and Joyce Jordan in 2011 were filled that same year by Don D. Coffman and Carlos Abril (a UM alum, BM 1993). Music Education and Music Therapy faculty moved from office spaces in the Volpe Building and Knight Building to the newly renovated 1552 Brescia Building, where they remained until the PLF Studios were ready.

Corin Overland (2012) added expertise in choral music education to the department. Steven Moore (2013), who came to be Associate Dean for Undergraduates and direct the Symphonic Winds, received an appointment in the music education department. 

Don D. Coffman has chaired the department since 2011.