Music Teaching in the Boston Public Schools,1864-1879

Abstract

Music instruction was instituted in the Boston Public Schools by Lowell Mason in 1838. During the 1860s and 1870s, a strong music program was developed in Boston under the leadership of the Committee on Music, Luther Whiting Mason, and other music staff members. Education historians have described the growth of bureaucratic urban school systems in the nineteenth century. This article deals with the development of the Boston music program, with its centralized administration, specialized music supervisors, and teacher-training programs. Textbooks were published and a curriculum organized to meet the needs of the expanding urban school system. The Boston School Committee endorsed music to promote good discipline and encouraged music performances to bring the school system positive publicity. The music program declined in the economically depressed 1870s because the music staff was cut while the school population increased. Nevertheless, the Boston program became a model for music programs throughout America and abroad.