William Churchill Hammond (November 25, 1860 – April 15, 1949)
was an American
organist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...
,
choirmaster
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 sp ...
, and
music educator
Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do original ...
. He is noted for being one of the founding members of the
American Guild of Organists
The American Guild of Organists (AGO) is an international organization of academic, church, and concert organists in the US, headquartered in New York City with its administrative offices in the Interchurch Center. Founded as a professional educati ...
, and for a lengthy tenure on the faculty of
Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College is a private liberal arts women's college in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It is the oldest member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of elite historically women's colleges in the Northeastern United States.
...
.
Hammond was born in
Rockville, Connecticut. In 1885, at the age of 25 he became organist and music director of Holyoke's Second Congregational Church, a post that he served for nearly 60 years. He married Fannie Reed, daughter of Second Congregational's pastor.
Among his pupils was John Shea, who would later write
Notre Dame's
Victory March, first playing it for his former teacher on the congregational church's organ in 1908.
He first joined the faculty of Smith College. In 1899 he joined faculty of Mount Holyoke College (as one of the first two male faculty) and remained there for over 40 years. In 1924 he received a Doctor of Music degree from Holyoke, in 1935 he established a music major, and in 1936 he resigned the position of chair of the music department.
Throughout his career Hammond himself would give more than 1,200 local recitals as well as organize and tour Mount Holyoke's Carol Choir to venues across the country, including the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
.
Hammond was also a
collector of folklore songs, arranging and publishing
Christmas carols
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...
through the New Haven Carol Society for more than 35 years, as well as most notably being the first musician to formally put the American folk-tune ''White's Air'' into print.
In December 1942, Holyoke's daily newspaper
Transcript-Telegram awarded Hammond with its third William G. Dwight Distinguished Service to Holyoke award.
Notes
References
Further reading
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External links
Hammond papers Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hammond, William Churchill
1860 births
1949 deaths
20th-century Congregationalists
American choral conductors
American Congregationalists
American folk-song collectors
American male organists
Mount Holyoke College faculty
Musicians from Massachusetts
People from Holyoke, Massachusetts
People from Rockville, Connecticut