Peter William Dykema (25 November 1873 – 13 May 1951) was an important force in the growth of the National Association for Music Education (initially known as the Music Supervisors National Conference),
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 ...
fraternity, and the music education profession. Dykema was also active in the
Music Teachers National Association
Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) is an American nonprofit professional organization for the support, growth, and development of music-teaching professionals, with more than 17,000 members in 50 states, and more than 500 affiliated loc ...
and the National Education Association Department of Music Education. He also served as 1924-25 chairman of the
Kiwanis International
Kiwanis International ( ) is an international service club founded in 1915 in Detroit, Michigan. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, and is found in more than 80 nations and geographic areas. Since 1987, the organizatio ...
Committee on Music. Through these various avenues of involvement, in addition to his work as a composer, author, and educator, he was one of the leading music advocates of his day.
Education
He earned a B. L Degree from the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
, Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1895, with certification to teach French and German. He earned an M. L. Degree in English literature from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1896. He undertook vocal studies with Franz Arens in New York from 1903 to 1904. He studied music theory with Frank Shepard at the
Institute of Musical Art
The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most e ...
, New York, from 1904 to 1905. He student music theory with Edgar Stillman Kelly in Berlin, Germany from 1911 to 1912. He also studied ear training and composition at
Juilliard
The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...
from 1912 to 1913.
Career
Aurora High School (1896-1898)
Dykema served as an English and German teacher at Aurora (Illinois) High School from 1896 to 1898.
Calvin Fletcher School (1898-1901)
He served as the principal of the Calvin Fletcher School (P.S. 8) in Indianapolis, Indiana from 1898 to 1901. Located at 520 Virginia Avenue, the school was comparable to what would now be called a middle school, made up of students in grades six through eight (Indianapolis News, June 17, 1899). Dykema led the school's students in regular choral concerts presented in the community (Indianapolis News, January 24, 1900). Concerts included selections by major classical composers, a May 2, 1901 concert was made up completely of selections by
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...
(Indianapolis News, May 3, 1901). Open rehearsals for students from other schools were sometimes held (Indianapolis News, April 24, 1901). Dykema sometimes presented public lectures in the community on topics such as education and visual art (Indianapolis News, November 5, 1898).
Ethical Culture School (1901-1913)
He was in charge of music at what is now known as the
Ethical Culture Fieldston School
Ethical Culture Fieldston School (ECFS), also referred to as Fieldston, is a private independent school in New York City. The school is a member of the Ivy Preparatory School League. The school serves approximately 1,700 students with 480 facult ...
in New York City from 1901 to 1913. The school was founded in 1878 by religious leader and social reformer
Felix Adler.
University of Wisconsin (1913-1924)
He was Professor of music at the
University of Wisconsin
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
in Madison from 1913 to 1924. He took a leave of absence from 1918 to 1919 to serve as Supervisor of music for
Commission on Training Camp Activities
The Commission on Training Camp Activities (CTCA) was an umbrella agency within the United States Department of War during World War I that provided recreational and educational activities for soldiers as they trained for combat. Established in ...
of the War Department. From 1916 to 1917, he served as national president of what is now the National Association for Music Education. In 1917, he was elected to honorary membership in the Alpha Chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity at Boston's New England Conservatory. In 1919, he was elected to honorary membership in the Beta Chapter at Combs College of Music. In 1921, he was a member of the charter class of the Phi Chapter installed at the University of Wisconsin. The following year, in 1922, he was elected Supreme President of the Fraternity.
Teacher's College, Columbia University (1924-1940)
He served as professor and chair of the music education department, Teachers College,
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
, in New York from 1924 until his retirement in 1940, where he was a contemporary of educational reformer
John Dewey
John Dewey (; October 20, 1859 – June 1, 1952) was an American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. He was one of the most prominent American scholars in the f ...
. He used Dewey’s 1934 work
Art As Experience
''Art as Experience'' (1934) is John Dewey's major writing on aesthetics, originally delivered as the first William James Lecture at Harvard (1932). Dewey's aesthetics have been found useful in a number of disciplines, including new media.
Dewe ...
as a text in his course on aesthetics.
Retirement (1940-1951)
He was Professor Emeritus from 1940 until his death in 1951. In 1946, he was guest conductor of the summer music camp at the University of the Pacific.
Compositions
Dykema wrote several songs, some of which appear in ''Sinfonia Songs''. He wrote a choral anthem, ''We Who Love Music'', and two Christmas songs, which appeared in the ''Blue Book'' of the Twice 55 series. They are ''To Shorten Winter's Sadness'' and ''A Carol for Everyman''.
Dykema also collaborated on a series of music education textbooks, including several California State Series textbooks. His collaborators included M. Teresa Armitage; Donald Franklin Main; Hazel Nohavec Morgan;
Gladys Pitcher; Floy Adele Rossman; Martha Powell Setchell; Herman F Smith; D K Stevens; and
J. Lilian Vandevere.
Family
Dykema was the ninth and youngest child of Cornelius and Henrietta Dykema, Dutch immigrants who met as teenagers and settled in Grand Rapids, Michigan after their marriage (Underwood, p. K.1). Dykema married Jessie Dunning on December 24, 1903. They had five children: Karl Washburn Dykema, Roger Dunning Dykema, Alice Mary Barnes, Helen Cargan Dengler, Peter Scot Dykema. His daughter Helen authored the biographical work ''Music For All'' in 1994, and was interviewed by Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity's T. Jervis Underwood for the fraternity's ''Centennial History''.
The Music Educators Journal
After his 1913 speech at the national convention of what is now NAfME, Dykema quickly became an active member in the organization, and became an active member after his presidential term ended in 1917. He was perhaps best known for his position as the editor of the Conference journal, first called ''The Bulletin'' and renamed ''The Music Supervisors Journal'' in 1915. Dykema used the publication to keep members informed about the organization and the profession, writing frequent columns about such topics as community singing, musical tests, new movements in music education, and issues within the Conference.
Advocacy
Dykema organized
choir
A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...
s at all the schools where he worked, included arts in his classes, and promoted music education in his faculty positions at the university level. When he taught high school English, he included a unit on arts education, and he developed one of the first
music appreciation
Music appreciation is a division of musicology that is designed to teach students how to understand and describe the contexts and creative processes involved in music composition.
The concept of music appreciation is often taught as a subset of ...
courses in the country. During his tenure at Teachers College, Columbia University, he increased music education course requirements for the master's degree and helped develop the first doctoral program in the music education department.
Dykema promoted music making and music education wherever he went. He was known as an inspiring choir leader and untiring worker, continuing to travel, write and lecture about music after he retired from his position at Teachers College in 1940. Heavily influenced by a Dutch
Calvinist
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
background that included family and church singing, Dykema advocated community music, believing that towns and cities should insure that their populations have access to musical groups, performance halls, and competent directors. He thought it was important that adults should have opportunities to study instruments as beginners, and he urged teachers to foster such a love of music that students would continue playing and singing after compulsory lessons had ended.
In 1918, he chaired a joint committee of twelve (that included John Alden Carpenter, Frederick S. Converse, Wallace Goodrich,
Hollis Dann Hollis Ellsworth Dann (May 1, 1861 – January 3, 1939) was an American music educator and choral director during the early twentieth century.
Early life
Dann was born in Canton, Pennsylvania to a musical family and studied music in Boston before ...
, among others) that prepared the "service version" of the National Anthem. Later, as a member of the National Anthem Committee in 1942, he helped prepare ''The Code for the National Anthem of the United States of America'' (www.thenationalanthemproject.org/reprise.pdf).
From 1923 to 1939, he served as chair of the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA)'s national Committee on Community Music. The reports of the committee as documented in MTNA's ''Volume of Proceedings'' from each year during that period contain in depth information on Dykema's efforts in the area of music advocacy: the promotion of Christmas carolling, community sings, music in industry, etc. He also described a collaboration between Phi Mu Alpha and
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 ...
at the University of Wisconsin to establish a high school organization called Omicron Phi (''MTNA Volume of Proceedings'', 1936, p. 356). During much of this period, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia and MTNA held national conventions simultaneously.
He was a member of a Manhattan chapter of the
Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America (SPEBSQSA), now known as the
Barbershop Harmony Society
The Barbershop Harmony Society, legally and historically named the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, Inc. (SPEBSQSA), is the first of several organizations to promote and preserve barbershop ...
, along with fellow Sinfonians
Sigmund Spaeth
Sigmund Gottfried Spaeth (April 10, 1885 – November 12, 1965) was an American musicologist who traced the sources and origins of popular songs to their folk and classical roots. Presenting his findings through books, lectures, liner notes, newsp ...
and
Fiorello LaGuardia
Fiorello Henry LaGuardia (; born Fiorello Enrico LaGuardia, ; December 11, 1882September 20, 1947) was an American attorney and politician who represented New York in the House of Representatives and served as the 99th Mayor of New York City from ...
.
Prescott Bush
Prescott Sheldon Bush (May 15, 1895 – October 8, 1972) was an American banker as a Wall Street executive investment banker, he represented Connecticut in the from 1952 of the Bush family, he was the father of former Vice President and Pre ...
was also a member of the Manhattan chapter of SPEBSQUA (May 1946 ''Harmonizer'').
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity
Considered one of the most influential leaders in the Fraternity's history, Dykema was elected as an honorary member of the Fraternity's Alpha Chapter at the
New England Conservatory
The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on Hu ...
in Boston on or around January 8, 1917 while serving as president of what is now the Music Educators National Conference. Three years later, he was elected an honorary member of the Beta Chapter at the
Combs College of Music
Combs College of Music was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, in 1885 as Combs Broad Street Conservatory of Music by Gilbert Raynolds Combs, celebrated pianist, organist and composer.
The faculty included famous musicians such ...
in Philadelphia. He was a member of the class that chartered the Phi Chapter at the
University of Wisconsin
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
in 1921, and was elected as a national honorary member (Alpha Alpha Chapter) in 1932. Based on the records compiled by former supreme historian Thomas Larrimore, it appears that Dykema holds the record for the most multiple chapter memberships.
Following a period of internal difficulty following the active departure of Ossian E. Mills, Percy Jewett Burrell, and other early Fraternity leaders, the Fraternity experienced internal difficulty (made more significant by the challenges of World War I) during the five years leading up to Dykema's election in 1922. Upon his election, Dykema addressed the delegates at the Chicago convention, "I want to hear from each one of you. The first thing I want to know is, 'Why should this fraternity exist at all? Why shouldn't we abandon the whole idea?" (Underwood, p. K.2). Dykema's words challenged and stirred his listeners, and the Fraternity's second defining period commenced. The number of active chapters grew significantly under his watch as president, and during those years the Fraternity was introduced to major universities such as
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...
, the
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
, the
University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
, the
Eastman School of Music
The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York. It was established in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman.
It offers Bachelor of Music (B.M ...
, the
University of Illinois
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...
, the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
, the
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory.
T ...
, and
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
.
Dykema made several contributions to the Fraternity. He served on a team that oversaw the develop of membership intake protocol in 1926 and 1938. He served as editor and compiler of the 1931 edition of Sinfonia Songs. In the 1920s, he established the province structure, appointing the inaugural class of province governors. He was instrumental in bringing multiple key leaders in music education and advocacy into the fraternity, including Paul J. Weaver, Edward Bailey Birge, and Clarence C. Birchard. He presided over the dedication of the memorial in honor of Ossian E. Mills in Putnam, Connecticut in 1928, in addition to presiding over the dedication of the Sinfonia Lodge at
Interlocken.
As a faculty member at Teachers College of Columbia University, he maintained close involvement with the Beta Gamma Chapter, where he served on the faculty after leaving Wisconsin. Through his influence, many men associated with music education on the national level came into Fraternity membership.
He served as supreme president from 1922 to 1928, during which time the Fraternity essentially doubled its number of active chapters across the country. Dykema's ascendancy to the presidency came just five years after his first election to honorary membership in the Fraternity. After leaving office as supreme president, he served as Committeeman-at-Large from 1928 to 1934, and as Supreme Historian from 1934 to 1938. His total years of formal service to the national level was sixteen years. During the remaining thirteen years of his life, he continued to be actively involved with the Fraternity. In 1944, he helped coordinate a Fraternity reception in New York City in honor of the Republican presidential candidate, and fellow Michigan graduate and Fraternity member,
Thomas E. Dewey
Thomas Edmund Dewey (March 24, 1902 – March 16, 1971) was an American lawyer, prosecutor, and politician who served as the 47th governor of New York from 1943 to 1954. He was the Republican candidate for president in 1944 and 1948: although ...
.
He is credited with essentially saving the Fraternity from extinction through the administrative restructuring that took place under his leadership as president(which involved dividing the Fraternity into provinces and the appointment of province governors, one of the earliest of whom was
Thomas E. Dewey
Thomas Edmund Dewey (March 24, 1902 – March 16, 1971) was an American lawyer, prosecutor, and politician who served as the 47th governor of New York from 1943 to 1954. He was the Republican candidate for president in 1944 and 1948: although ...
. Through his involvement with the
Music Teachers National Association
Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) is an American nonprofit professional organization for the support, growth, and development of music-teaching professionals, with more than 17,000 members in 50 states, and more than 500 affiliated loc ...
and 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 ...
, the Fraternity came into close collaboration with these organizations, which had a lasting influence on the Fraternity's focus on music advocacy for decades.
Dykema served as chair of the 1931 edition of ''Sinfonia Songs''. Some of the popular songs of a "general nature" entered the songbook under his watch. Several of his songs are included in the current songbook published in 1998, as are several that had previously appeared in the ''Twice 55 Community Songs'' series edited by Dykema. Two of his sons were also Sinfonians: Karl Washburn Dykema (into the Delta Eta Chapter at Youngstown State University in 1959), and Roger Dunning Dykema (into the Beta Gamma Chapter at Columbia University in 1928). Along with William B. McBride, Dykema is one of only two men who served as national president of both the Fraternity and the NAfME.
The Fraternity commissioned an oil painting of Dykema. The painting is part of the Gottesman Libraries' collection at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
. It was restored by Chelsea Restoration conservators during the summer of 2010.
Death
Dykema died from a heart attack at his home in Hastings, New York on Sunday, May 13, 1951. His funeral was held in
St. Paul's Chapel (Columbia University)
St. Paul's Chapel, on the Morningside Heights campus of Columbia University in Manhattan, New York City, is an Episcopal church built in 1903–07 and designed by I. N. Phelps Stokes, of the firm of Howells & Stokes. The exterior is in the Nort ...
on the campus of
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
in New York City. The eulogy, written by former Sinfonia national president Norval Church, was delivered by Columbia's chaplain, James A. Pike. Dykema's ashes were scattered at a lake near
Ompah, Ontario
Ompah is a village in eastern Ontario, Canada, located in the township of North Frontenac, approximately southwest of Ottawa. The village is situated close to many lakes including Palmerston Lake, Canonto Lake, Sunday Lake, and Mosque Lake.
Omp ...
, his favorite wilderness retreat.
Honors
He was initiated as a member of Phi Mu Alpha's Alpha Alpha National Honorary Chapter in 1932, with the Beta Gamma Chapter conducting the ceremony. In 1986, he was recognized as a member of the National Association for Music Education's Music Educators Hall of Fame.
References
* Birge, Edward Bailey. History of Public School Music In The United States.
* Dengler, Helen Dykema (1994). ''Music For All.'' Boston: C. C. Birchard.
* Griesman, Robert Julian (1953). ''Early Developments Leading to Peter Dykema's Contribution to American Music Education.'' University of Southern California thesis.
* Eisenkramer, Henry Edward (1963). ''Peter William Dykema, his life and contribution to music education.'' Columbia University dissertation.
* Mark, M.L and Gary, C.L. (1999). ''A History of American Music Education''. Reston: National Association for Music Education.
* Underwood, T. Jervis. (2000). ''Centennial History.'' Evansville, IN: Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dykema, Peter W.
American music educators
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia
1951 deaths
1873 births
University of Michigan alumni