Velma Kitchell Wilson Retirement Letters, 1967 | University of Illinois Archives

After five years of study and discussion on the subject, the Board of Trustees organized the School of Music on June 9, 1897, to offer courses in musical instruction.¹ Initially the courses of study included vocal and instrumental training as well as work in the history of music.² In 1922 the curriculum of Music Education was added in cooperation with the College of Education.³ When the College of Fine and Applied Arts was organized on March 12, 1931, the school of Music was included in the new college.⁴ The School started to offer courses leading to the degree of Master of Music in 1940, and, in 1953, it began to offer courses leading to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Musicology.⁵ Both graduate and undergraduate curricula expanded until in 1974 the School of Music offered courses in the fields of theory, history, and applied music. Degrees offered include the Bachelor of Arts, Master of Music, Master of Science in Music Education, Doctor of Education in Music Education, Doctor of Philosophy in Musicology, and Doctor of Musical Arts.⁶ Musical groups often associated with the School such as the University Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestras, Wind Ensemble, and Contemporary Chamber Players are open to qualified students from any college.⁷

This unit covers:

--Music Education, Council for Research in (1974)

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1. Board of Trustees Transactions, 16th Report, March 8, 1892, p. 205; 18th Report, March 12, 1895, pp. 73, 77; June 11, 1895, pp. 95-96, 102; 19th Report, June 9, 1897, pp. 124-25.

2. Catalogs and Registers, 1897-98, pp. 135-37.

3. Ibid., 1922-23, p. 116.

4. Board of Trustees Transactions, 36th Report, March 12, 1931, p. 186-87.

5. Catalogs and Registers, 1940-41, p. 167; Undergraduate Study Catalog, 1953-54, p. 130.

6. Undergraduate Study Catalog, 1973-75, p. 259.

7. Ibid., 1973-75, p. 259.