William A. Howland (1 May 1871 – 3 May 1945) was an American operatic

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

, voice teacher,

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Music * Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra. * ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas * Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...

and university administrator. He was the head of the music department at the University of Michigan from 1900-1914. In 1914 he co-founded the

Detroit Institute of Musical Arts The Detroit Institute of Musical Arts (DIMA) was a music conservatory in Detroit, Michigan that was actively providing higher education in music from 1914-1970. History The Detroit Institute of Musical Arts was founded by several Michigan based mu ...

; serving as the school's vice-president and head of the vocal department until his death 31 years later.

Early life and education

Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, Howland was the youngest of six children born to Emma Lane Howland and her husband Dr. Asa Allan. His mother was a direct descendant of John Howland, a pilgrim who travelled from England to North America on the '' Mayflower'', signed the

Mayflower Compact The Mayflower Compact, originally titled Agreement Between the Settlers of New Plymouth, was the first governing document of Plymouth Colony. It was written by the men aboard the ''Mayflower,'' consisting of separatist Puritans, adventurers, an ...

, and helped found Plymouth Colony. His father was a prominent dental surgeon and was notably the first president of the

Dental Association of New England Dental may refer to: * Dental consonant, in phonetics * Dental Records, an independent UK record label * Dentistry, oral medicine * Teeth See also * * Dental care (disambiguation) * Dentist (disambiguation) * Tooth (disambiguation) A tooth ( ...

. William served as president of the

Pilgrim John Howland Society A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the adherent of ...

from 1924 to 1945. After attending grammar school and graduating from English High School in Worcester in 1889, Howland moved to New York City, where he pursued music studies, sang in various churches, and also taught singing through 1894. In New York he studied singing with

Frederick Bristol Frederick E. Bristol (4 November 1839 in Brookfield, Connecticut – 1932 in N.Y. City, New York) was a celebrated American voice teacher who operated private studios in Boston and New York City during the second half of the 19th century and early ...

, music theory and composition with

Dudley Buck Dudley Buck (March 10, 1839October 6, 1909) was an American composer, organist, and writer on music. He published several books, most notably the ''Dictionary of Musical Terms'' and ''Influence of the Organ in History'', which was published i ...

, conducting with Frank Damrosch, piano with Albert Ross Parsons, and the organ with Richard T. Percy. He also pursued further studies abroad during the summer months of the early 1890s; studying the oratorio repertoire in London with

Alberto Randegger Alberto Randegger (13 April 1832 – 18 December 1911) was an Italian-born composer, conductor and singing teacher, best known for promoting opera and new works of British music in England during the Victorian era and for his widely used textbook o ...

and Frederick Walker, and music composition, musical analysis, and opera with

Alfred Lorenz Alfred Ottokar Lorenz (11 July 1868, Vienna – 20 November 1939, Munich) was an Austrian-German conductor, composer, and musical analyst. His principal work is the four-volume ''Das Geheimnis der Form bei Richard Wagner'', which attempts to comp ...

in Germany.

Career

Howland made both his professional concert and opera debuts in New York City in 1889. In 1892–1893 he was a member of Boston's

Ideal Opera Company Ideal may refer to: Philosophy * Ideal (ethics), values that one actively pursues as goals * Platonic ideal, a philosophical idea of trueness of form, associated with Plato Mathematics * Ideal (ring theory), special subsets of a ring consider ...

, also known as the "Bostonians". In 1894 he returned to Worcester to assume the post of music director of Piedmont Church; a position he held for five years. During that time, he was also active as an oratorio soloist in concerts in New York and Boston. In 1895 he was a soloist at the Worcester Music Festival. On June 24, 1896, he married Fredreka Shaw Barnard (1870–1964), with whom he had two children: John and Dorothy. In 1900 he moved to

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor ...

, to assume the post of director of the music department at the University of Michigan. He remained in that role until the conclusion of the 1913–1914 school year. He notably served as the conductor of the University of Michigan Men's Glee Club from 1911 to 1914. In 1914 he co-founded the

which is now a part of Marygrove College. He served as the school's vice-president and head of the vocal department until his death in 1945.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howland, William 1871 births 1945 deaths American opera singers Operatic basses Pupils of Alberto Randegger Voice teachers University of Michigan faculty Howland family