James Hamilton Howe (November 14, 1856 in Boxford, Massachusetts – April 12, 1934 in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

) was a pianist and the first Dean of the Music School at

DePauw University DePauw University is a private liberal arts university in Greencastle, Indiana. It has an enrollment of 1,972 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the G ...

in Greencastle, Indiana when it was founded in 1884.

Education

James Hamilton Howe graduated from the College of Music of

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

Depauw University

During the first year of his term, Howe gave two lecture-recitals on the “History of Pianoforte Technique” and “My System of Pianoforte Technique,” and gave the first recital the School of Music offered. Professors of Piano Glen Sherman, Claude Cymerman, and Lorna Griffitt repeated that exact program as a part of the School of Music's centennial celebration in 1984. Over the next 10 years, Howe established a curriculum, overcome strong opposition to an opera program, and encourage an active performance calendar.

Alpha Chi Omega

While he was Dean of the Music School, Howe was also instrumental in the founding of Alpha Chi Omega fraternity. Howe gathered together seven young women from the school to attend a meeting for the purpose of forming a society. The first appearance of the seven founders – Anna Allen Smith, Olive Burnett Clark, Bertha Deniston Cunningham, Amy DuBois Rieth, Nellie Gamble Childe, Bessie Grooms Keenan, and Estelle Leonard – was in Meharry Hall of East College, wearing scarlet and olive ribbon streamers attached to their dresses.

References

1856 births 1934 deaths American conductors (music) American male conductors (music) American pianists Boston University College of Fine Arts alumni DePauw University faculty American male pianists {{US-pianist-stub