Combs College of Music was founded in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, 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 as

Leopold Godowsky Leopold Mordkhelovich Godowsky Sr. (13 February 1870 – 21 November 1938) was a Lithuanian-born American virtuoso pianist, composer and teacher. He was one of the most highly regarded performers of his time, known for his theories concernin ...

, Hugh Archibald Clark and

Henry Schradieck Henry Schradieck (29 April 1846 – 25 May 1918) was a German violinist, music pedagogue and composer. He was one of the foremost violin teachers of his day. He wrote a series of etude books for the violin which are still in common use tod ...

. In 1908 the college was chartered to grant academic degrees in music. The name of the college was changed in 1933 to Combs College of Music. Combs was the first music college to have dormitories and foreign students.Approved by the Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization for the attendance of non-immigrant foreign students. In 1954, Helen Behr Braun, a graduate of Combs Broad Street Conservatory and a concert violinist, succeeded to the Presidency. Under her direction an impressive faculty was assembled which included

Jean Casadesus Jean Claude Michel Casadesus (17 July 1927 – 20 January 1972) was a French classical pianist. He was the son of the renowned pianists Robert and Gaby Casadesus, and grandnephew of Henri Casadesus and Marius Casadesus. Jean Casadesus was born ...

, Leo Ornstein, Philadelphia Orchestra members Jacob Krachmalnick, Carl Torello and William Kincaid, musicologist Guy Marriner and composer

Romeo Cascarino Romeo Cascarino (September 28, 1922 – January 8, 2002) was an American composer of classical music. Cascarino was born in Philadelphia on September 28, 1922 and died in Norristown, Pennsylvania on January 8, 2002. He graduated from South Phil ...

. A partial list of notable faculty during the 1970s and 80s also included the duo-piano team of Toni and Rosi Grunschlag, performers and pedagogues Jacob Neupauer, Michael Guerra, Donald Reinhardt, Anthony Weigand,

, Dolores Ferraro, Frank Versaci, Joseph Primavera,

Keith Chapman Keith Chapman (born 1959) is a British television writer and producer, best known as the creator of children's television programmes ''Bob the Builder'' and ''PAW Patrol.'' Biography He worked for Jim Henson International, designing characters ...

, Morton Berger, Howard Haines, William Fabrizio and John McIntyre. As early as 1954 Helen Braun was exploring the use of music as a therapy. The college engaged in many early research projects; one sponsored by the

Rudolf Steiner Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner (27 or 25 February 1861 – 30 March 1925) was an Austrian occultist, social reformer, architect, esotericist, and claimed clairvoyant. Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century as ...

Foundation, which sent distinguished composer and Combs alumnus Paul Nordoff to England and Scotland to study the use of music for special needs children. Together with Clive Robbins, he pioneered a unique program of music therapy, widely recognized for its innovative and effective results. With Nordoff's teachings as a foundation, Combs was the first college in the Philadelphia area to offer an educational program in Music Therapy. Many of the leading practitioners in that field received their degrees from Combs.(see notable alumni below) The college moved from Center City to the city's West Mount Airy neighborhood and occupying many houses in the Pelham section in 1964, expanding the campus and adding dormitories. In 1984, the college relocated again to a new- campus in Radnor, Pennsylvania. Just prior to this move, Combs' Head of Composition and Composer in Residence Romeo Cascarino's opera ''William Penn'' attracted international attention. Sponsored by the college and the William Penn Opera Committee in cooperation with the Century IV Celebration, it was successfully mounted and performed at Philadelphia's prestigious Academy of Music in 1982. The college moved back to Philadelphia in 1987 to the campus of Spring Garden College. During the economic climate of those years, Combs College of Music, like so many small private institutions, experienced financial hardship and found its endowment inadequate. In 1990, the Board of Trustees made the decision to close its doors.

Accreditations and memberships

*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 Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools *The National Association for Music Therapy *The American Association of Music Therapy *The

Pennsylvania Department of Education The Pennsylvania Department of Education is the executive department of the state charged with publicly funded preschool, K-12 and adult educational budgeting, management and guidelines. As the state education agency, its activities are directed ...

(for teacher certification)

Notable alumni

Notable Combs alumni include: * Stanley Branche, civil rights activist, founder of the Committee for Freedom Now *

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Born and raise ...

, saxophonist, composer *

Marc Copland Marc or MARC may refer to: People * Marc (given name), people with the first name * Marc (surname), people with the family name Acronyms * MARC standards, a data format used for library cataloging, * MARC Train, a regional commuter rail system ...

, jazz pianist *

Khan Jamal Khan Jamal (July 23, 1946 – January 10, 2022), born Warren Robert Cheeseboro, was an American jazz vibraphone and marimba player. He founded the band Sounds of Liberation in 1970. He was described by Ron Wynn as "a proficient soloist when ...

, jazz vibraphonist * Gail Levin, music therapist, author *

Robert Manno Robert Manno (born 1944, Bryn Mawr, Pa) is the composer of numerous chamber and orchestral works, song cycles and solo piano and choral works. The Atlanta Audio Society has called him "a composer of serious music of considerable depth and spiritual ...

, composer, conductor, Windham Chamber Music Festival *

Vincent Persichetti Vincent Ludwig Persichetti (June 6, 1915 – August 14, 1987) was an American composer, teacher, and pianist. An important musical educator and writer, he was known for his integration of various new ideas in musical composition into his own wo ...

, composer, author, educator

Honorary degrees

Recipients of honorary Doctor of Music (D.Mus) degrees from Combs included: *

Marian Anderson Marian Anderson (February 27, 1897April 8, 1993) was an American contralto. She performed a wide range of music, from opera to spirituals. Anderson performed with renowned orchestras in major concert and recital venues throughout the United ...

, contralto * Samuel Barber, composer, pianist, singer *

Harold Boatrite Harold Boatrite (April 2, 1932 – April 26, 2021) was an American composer. After early studies with Stanley Hollingsworth, Harold Boatrite was awarded a fellowship to the Tanglewood Music Center where he studied composition with Lukas Foss and ...

, composer, educator *

, composer, pianist, arranger, educator *

, composer, organist at the

Wanamaker Organ The Wanamaker Grand Court Organ, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (United States of America) is the largest fully-functioning pipe organ in the world, based on the number of playing pipes, the number of ranks and its weight. (The Boardwalk ...

* Mischa Elman, concert violinist *Marc Mostovoy, conductor, founder, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia * Paul Nordoff, composer, music therapist, author * Temple Painter, concert harpsichordist, organist, pianist, educator *

, composer, author, educator *

Leopold Stokowski Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and his appear ...

, conductor *

Mary Louise Curtis Bok Zimbalist Mary Louise Curtis (August 6, 1876 in Boston, Massachusetts – January 4, 1970 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)Bok, Edward W. (1920) ''The Americanization of Edward Bok''. Lakeside Classics edition, R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co., Chicago, Illinois, ...

, founder, Curtis Institute of Music *Thomas LoMonaco, tenor, noted pedagogue * Frank Versaci, concert flutist Additionally, Combs awarded honorary Doctor of Humane Letters (D.H.L.) degrees to notables including: *

Pearl S. Buck Pearl Sydenstricker Buck (June 26, 1892 – March 6, 1973) was an American writer and novelist. She is best known for ''The Good Earth'' a bestselling novel in the United States in 1931 and 1932 and won the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel, Pulitze ...

, author, philanthropist *

Thacher Longstreth William Thacher Longstreth (January 1, 1920April 11, 2003) was a Republican member of the Philadelphia City Council who was perhaps best known for his long tenure and unique image. Longstreth, a graduate of Princeton University, was an eighth-g ...

, civic leader, Philadelphia City Councilman

References

{{reflist Educational institutions established in 1885 Music schools in Pennsylvania Defunct universities and colleges in Philadelphia

Educational institutions disestablished in 1990 1885 establishments in Pennsylvania