Allen Britton
Allen Perdue Britton (May 25, 1914 – February 17, 2003) was an American music educator.
Through his many passions in life he contributed to elevating the field of music education to the same stature as the field of musicology. He developed the doctoral program in music education at the University of Michigan, where he directed 51 dissertations. He contributed heavily to the history of music pedagogy in early America, especially singing schools. To combine his two interests of music education and history he joined with Marguerite V. Hood, Warren S. Freeman, and Theodore F. Normann and created the Journal of Research in Music Education (JRME).
Less than a decade after developing the journal for
Early life
Britton was born on May 25, 1914, in Elgin, Kane County, Illinois. He was the oldest son of Walter Allen and Mary (Perdue) Britton. The family lived on a farm just west of Elgin for Allen's first six years, then moved into Elgin. Allen married his high school sweetheart Veronica Fern Wallace on August 30, 1938, in Elgin, Illinois.
Education
Britton obtained his high school diploma from Elgin High School, Illinois in 1932. He then attended the
Work experience
Britton taught
Britton served as assistant professor of music at the University of Michigan from 1950, full professor in 1959, assistant dean in 1960, and as
Publications
Britton was founding editor of Journal of Research in Music Education (JRME), at which he worked from 1953 to 1972. He was also the editor of the textbook series Foundations of Music Education and the founding editor of American Music.
Britton wrote American Sacred Music Imprints, 1698-1810: A Bibliography with
Honors and merits
- Inducted into the Music Educators National Conference (MENC) hall of fame 1986
- Invited to be the closing speaker at the University of Maryland’s celebration of the sesquicentennial of Music in American Public Education Sponsored by MENC-1988
- The Michigan Music Educators Association Award of Merit
- University of Michigan Citation of Merit
- University of Illinois School of Music Alumni Association Distinguished Service Award
- MENC’s History Special Research Interest Group Distinguished Service award (1996)
- For American Sacred Imprints, 1698-1810: A Bibliography, was given the Vincent H. Duckles award for the best book-length bibliography or other research tool in music
Articles written by Britton
- Music Education in the Nineteen-Sixties. MUS ED J 47:23-6 n6 1961
- Thank You, Mr. President. MUS ED J Nov-December 1961, 33-36
- Music Education: an American Specialty. MUS ED J 48:27-9+ n6 1962
- The 1962 MENC Program. Port MUS ED J 48:45-8+ n4 1962
- The Development of Courses, Resources, and Activities for Performing Students. MUS ED J 45:42-4 n4 1964
- The General Theoretical Foundations of Music Education. MUS ED J 50:44-5 n5 1964
- Research in the United States. J RES MUS ED 17:108-11 n1 1969
- The Changing Scene. MUS ED J 56:109 May 1970
- La Educación Musical en los Estados Unidos de America. HETEROFONIA 7:13-17 n39 1974
- Keokuk to San Antonio: 75 Years of Change. MUS ED J 68:42-4 February 1982
- Founding JRME: A Personal View. J RES MUS ED 32:223-42 n4 1984
- Keynote Address, Sonneck-Society Liberty Supper Queensborough Community College 29 May 1976 SONNECK S 5:17-19 n3 1979
- The Sonneck Society and American Music. Port CHORAL J 28:28-9 n3 1987
- Research in Music Education, with particular Reference to the Historic and Scientific The How and Why of Teaching Singing Schools in Eighteenth Century America. CRME n99:23-41 Winter 1989
- MENC: Remembrances and Perspectives. QUARTERLY J OF MUS TEACHING 5:6-15 n2 1994
- In Celebration of 100 Years: The School of Music, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: Reminiscences: Musical and other delights at Illinois, 1933-1938. CRME n125:9-19 Summer 1995
- Introduction to Twentieth-Century Brass Soloists: Bio-Critical Source Books on Musical Performance by Meckna, M. SONNECK S 21:29 n3 1995
External links
- Allen Perdue Britton Papers at the University of Maryland Library