Himie Voxman (September 17, 1912 – November 22, 2011) was an American musician, teacher, university administrator, and composer known for producing many volumes of pedagogical compositions and literature for

wind instruments A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator (usually a tube) in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into (or over) a mouthpiece set at or near the end of the resonator. The pitc ...

Early life

Himie Voxman was born in

Centerville, Iowa Centerville is a city in and the county seat of Appanoose County, Iowa, Appanoose County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,412 in the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, a decline from 5,924 in 2000 United States Census, 2000. After ...

on September 17, 1912 to Morris Voxman and Mollie Tzipanuk Voxman. His parents were Jewish Ukrainian immigrants who immigrated to the United States three years before Himie was born. Voxman was the fourth of five children, with three older siblings who were born in Ukraine (which was then part of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

). Until Voxman was in high school, spellings of the surname varied among family members, including Vocksman, Vakcman, and Vaksman.Michele Ann Bowen Hustedt,
The life and career of Himie Voxman
(dissertation, 2010). Theses and Dissertations. Paper 465.

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

. .

Education and career

Voxman studied at the

, receiving a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering in 1933 and a master's degree in 1934. He became a faculty member at the university in 1939, and was director of the school of music from 1954 until his retirement in 1980. The

Voxman Music Building The Voxman Music Building is an academic building of the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. The building is named in honor of former University of Iowa director of the school of music, Himie Voxman. History The original Voxman ...

at the university was named in his honor in 1995. Through his work, Voxman became one of the most well-known and respected music educators in the nation, with much of his work being published by Rubank, Inc. Eugene Rousseau, the classical saxophonist, is one of his former students.

Affiliations and honors

Voxman served on a number of associations and boards, including: * Commission on Graduate Studies for the

National Association of Schools of Music The National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) is an association of post-secondary music schools in the United States and the principal U.S. accreditor for higher education in music. It was founded on October 20, 1924, and is based in Reston ...

(Chairman) * National Commission for Accreditation of Teacher Education and Welfare *

North Central Association of Colleges and Schools The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), also known as the North Central Association, was a membership organization, consisting of colleges, universities, and schools in 19 U.S. states engaged in educational accreditation. It w ...

United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...

* Academic Panel for cultural exchange projects for the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

He also received many honors throughout his career, including citations from collegiate fraternities and honors societies including

Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America (colloquially known as Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Phi Mu Alpha, or simply Sinfonia) () is an American collegiate social fraternity for men with a special interest in music. The fraternity is open to men "w ...

Mu Phi Epsilon Mu Phi Epsilon () is a co-ed international professional fraternity, professional music fraternity. It has over 75,000 members in 227 collegiate chapters and 113 Alumnus/a, alumni chapters in the US and abroad. History Mu Phi Epsilon was founde ...

Pi Kappa Lambda Pi Kappa Lambda () is an American honor society for undergraduate students, graduate students, and professors of music. There are over 270 chapters nationally; a complete roster of current chapters is listed in the organization's official web si ...

Sigma Alpha Iota Sigma Alpha Iota () is a women's music fraternity. Formed to "uphold the highest standards of music" and "to further the development of music in America and throughout the world", it continues to provide musical and educational resources to its m ...

Tau Beta Pi The Tau Beta Pi Association (commonly Tau Beta Pi, , or TBP) is the oldest engineering honor society and the second oldest collegiate honor society in the United States. It honors engineering students in American universities who have shown a ...

Phi Lambda Upsilon Phi Lambda Upsilon National Honorary Chemical Society () was founded in 1899 at the Noyes Laboratory of the University of Illinois. Phi Lambda Upsilon was the first honor society dedicated to scholarship in a single discipline, chemistry. Object ...

, and

Sigma Xi Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society () is a highly prestigious, non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a junior faculty member and a small group of graduate students in 1886 ...

. Additionally, he received awards from the following organizations: * Iowa Bandmaster's Association: Honorary Life Membership * Iowa Music Educators Association: Distinguished Service Award * The Bell System: Silver Baton *

Coe College Coe College is a private liberal arts college in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It was founded in 1851 and is historically affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). The college is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest and the Associat ...

: Honorary doctorate *

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private, Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-centu ...

Doctor of Humane Letters The degree of Doctor of Humane Letters (; DHumLitt; DHL; or LHD) is an honorary degree awarded to those who have distinguished themselves through humanitarian and philanthropic contributions to society. The criteria for awarding the degree differ ...

* Federation of State High School Music Associations: Award of Merit *

Missouri State High School Activities Association The Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) is the governing body for high school activities throughout the state of Missouri. Approximately 580 high schools are members of MSHSAA. The MSHSAA conducts championship-level activi ...

: Distinguished Service Award * University of Iowa: Doctor of Humane Letters *

National Federation of State High School Associations The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) is the body that writes the rules of competition for most high school sports and activities in the United States. NFHS's headquarters are located in White River State Park in Indi ...

: Induction into the National High School Hall of Fame under the Fine Arts category. In 1984, he served as the woodwind judge for the final round of the Canadian National Competitive Festival of Music. The University of Iowa School of Music's Voxman Building is named after Voxman.

Death

Voxman died on November 22, 2011 in

Iowa City Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...

at the age of 99.

References

External links

Himie Voxman Research Archive Collection Guide
-

Libraries' Rita Benton Music Library. *
Engineering graduate: clarinet LEGEND
by Anne Tanner, University of Iowa ''fyi Faculty & Staff News'', Vol. 40, No. 2 (September 6, 2002).

- University of Iowa Alumni Association.
Himie Voxman
(video interview). ''

NAMM The NAMM Show is an annual event in the United States that is organized by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), who describe it as "the industry’s largest stage, uniting the global music, sound and entertainment technology commun ...

Oral History Program'', 2009-04-07. Retrieved on 2009-09-02. {{DEFAULTSORT:Voxman, Himie American clarinetists 1912 births 2011 deaths People from Centerville, Iowa Musicians from Iowa University of Iowa alumni University of Iowa faculty