Rutgers College
Long before the founding of Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University’s liberal arts colleges developed their own music departments and traditions. Although each school has a unique history-Rutgers College was founded to train ministers for the Dutch Reformed Church, New Jersey College for Women (later Douglass College) was established to provide higher education for women, and Livingston College formed in response to the sociopolitical changes of the 1960s-a shared passion of music united these various student bodies. The next seven “cases” focus on students and professors who participated in music at Rutgers from 1871, when the Rutgers College Chapel Choir formed, to 1981, when the music programs at Rutgers, Douglass, and Livingston College transferred to Mason Gross School of the Arts. Ultimately, these cases explore the history and tradition of music at Rutgers University and examines how music constructed a shared identity among the colleges.
The music department at Rutgers College was established in 1919 and headed by Howard D. McKinney. Classes were offered in instrumental and vocal studies as well as music theory, history, and appreciation. Additionally, a number of music clubs provided students with the opportunity to practice, hone, and enjoy their crafts with peers. These groups performed on campus, throughout New Jersey and the United States, and often collaborated with New Jersey College for Women music groups.
University Concert Series Program, 1933–1934 Season.
In 1917, Howard D. McKinney organized the University Concert Series which became a yearly tradition. The concert series brought prominent musicians, orchestras, and choral ensembles to New Brunswick to entertain and culturally engage the students at Rutgers and later, New Jersey College for Women (NJC). Groups who participated in the concert series include the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera singers, and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. In some cases, the performers were accompanied by the Rutgers Glee Club and NJC musical clubs.
The Music News, March 23, 1925.
This bulletin was published by the Rutgers College Department of Music, New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Songs of Rutgers, compiled and edited by Frank S. Scudder in 1885 and Howard D. McKinney in 1938, published by J. Fischer & Brother, NY, undated.
In March 1873, the Rutgers University Glee Club gave its first performance. On the day of the concert, Glee Club founder Edwin E. Colburn asked his friend Howard N. Fuller to write a song for the performance that would inspire students and alumni. In two hours, Fuller wrote “On the Banks of the Old Raritan” to the tune of “On the Banks of the Old Dundee.” The song became so popular after its first performance that it became tradition to sing it at football games. Eventually, it became the Rutgers College alma mater. In 1989, several years after Rutgers became coeducational, the university’s administration changed the lyrics to “On the Banks…” to acknowledge the presence of women. As a result the phrase “my boys” in the first line of the chorus became "my friends." In 2013, the lyrics were changed once again for the same reason. The first verse now reads "From far and near we came to Rutgers / And resolved to learn all that we can" instead of "My father sent me to old Rutgers / And resolv'd that I should be a man." Other traditional Rutgers songs include “The Bells Must Ring,” “Colonel Rutgers,” “In a Quaint Old Jersey Town,” “Nobody Ever Died for Dear Old Rutgers,” “The Rutgers History Lesson,” and “A Hymn to Queens.”
Banjo and Mandolin Club, 1897.
Student Performance in the Music House, July 31, 1936.
Rutgers Music Club with Howard D. McKinney, 1922.
Howard Decker McKinney graduated from Rutgers College in 1913. In 1916, he was hired as the music director of Rutgers College and worked to improve the quality of music at college events and chapel services. Over the years, McKinney also directed the Rutgers Musical Clubs, Glee Club, and Choir; advised the Music Club; founded the University Concert Series; and worked with several music groups at New Jersey College for Women. As a tribute to his many contributions, the Music Activities Building, which housed rehearsal halls for the Rutgers University Glee Club, Band, and University Choir, was renamed McKinney Hall around 1960.
The Rutgers College Music Department was formally introduced in 1919. Classes, exams, and student performances were held in the Music House which, by 1950, was located at 19 Bishop Place. McKinney served as the department’s first director and was succeeded by Alfred Mann in the 1950s. Henry W. Kaufmann, a Rutgers College professor, Episcopal priest, organist, and choir director ran the department from 1964 to 1973. Lastly, Martin Picker chaired the department until 1981 when the music departments of Rutgers University folded into the Mason Gross School of the Arts.
Rutgers College Band in front of Winants Hall with director George Cook, circa 1930.
The Rutgers College Band formed in 1916 under the aegis of the Military Department. Although the group initially provided music for the Rutgers College Cadet Corps weekly drills, they soon began performing at football games and other college events to “to pep up rooters and players and lend color to the affair.” Because their spirited performances were so popular, the band separated from ROTC and became its own group in 1923. By 1928, the band resembled a modern day marching band – members wore straw hats and blazers and played music while making formations on the field. When Scott Whitener was hired to improve the band program in the late 1960s, the ensemble grew, became known as the Marching 100, and performed pre-game and halftime shows using the the Big-Ten high step marching style.
In addition to playing at sporting events, the Rutgers College Band also functioned as a concert band. For example, in 1948, the band gave a Christmas Concert with the Rutgers University Glee Club, a winter radio concert with the New Jersey College for Women Weeping Willows, and its own spring concert.
In 2013, the Rutgers College Band is strictly a marching and pep band known as the Rutgers University Marching Scarlet Knights and the Rutgers University Pep Band. The group performs during sporting events and at several marching band competitions. They are directed by Timothy Smith.
Rutgers College Band as a Concert Band Ensemble, 1938.
Kirkpatrick Chapel Choir, circa 1952.
The Rutgers College Chapel Choir formed in 1871 and is arguably the university’s first music group. In 1873, the choir moved into the newly built Kirkpatrick Chapel. There, the all-male ensemble sang during religious services, performed a yearly Christmas Series and spring concert, and collaborated with a number of college groups including the Rutgers University Glee Club and Voorhees Chapel Choir.
In 1953, the choir began to include New Jersey College for Women students. Two years later, David A. Drinkwater, a Rutgers College music faculty member and organist of Kirkpatrick Chapel, became the choir’s director—a position he held until 1998. Under his tenure, the choir continued to perform at religious services, began to perform a significant repertory of major choral orchestral masterworks, and was renamed the Kirkpatrick (Chapel) Choir.
The Rutgers Kirkpatrick Choir is a part of Mason Gross School of the Arts. It is comprised of Mason Gross School of the Arts and Rutgers University students and its mission is to educate professional musicians through performance. The choir performs a significant repertory of choral orchestral masterworks, Baroque music accompanied by period instruments, important works of the 20th and 21st century, as well as the traditional yearly Christmas series.
Rutgers Orchestra, 1916.
Conducted by Morris Breitkopf (class of 1917).