Combs College of Music
Encyclopedia
Combs College of Music was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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
, Hugh Archibald Clark and Henry Schradieck
.
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. 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
, Leo Ornstein
, Philadelphia Orchestra
members Jacob Krachmalnick, Carl Torello and William Kincaid, musicologist Guy Marriner and composer Romeo Cascarino
.
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, Romeo Cascarino
, Dolores Ferraro, Frank Versaci, Joseph Primavera, Keith Chapman
, 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 Rudolph Steiner 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-38 acres (153,780.7 m²) 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.
Additionally, Combs awarded honorary Doctor of Humane Letters (D.H.L.) degrees to notables including:
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
in 1885 as Combs Broad Street Conservatory of Music by Gilbert Raynolds Combs
Gilbert Raynolds Combs
Gilbert Raynolds Combs was an American pianist, organist, and player of stringed instruments; a composer of music for orchestra, piano, voice, and violin; a teacher; and an orchestral and chorus conductor...
, celebrated pianist,organist and composer.
The faculty included famous musicians such as Leopold Godowsky
Leopold Godowsky
Leopold Godowsky was a famed Polish American pianist, composer, and teacher. One of the most highly regarded performers of his time, he became known for his theories concerning the application of relaxed weight and economy of motion in piano playing, principles later propagated by Godowsky's...
, Hugh Archibald Clark and Henry Schradieck
Henry Schradieck
Henry Schradieck 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 today....
.
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. 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 Casadesus
Jean Casadesus 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 in Paris...
, Leo Ornstein
Leo Ornstein
Leo Ornstein was a leading American experimental composer and pianist of the early twentieth century...
, Philadelphia Orchestra
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
members Jacob Krachmalnick, Carl Torello and William Kincaid, musicologist Guy Marriner and composer Romeo Cascarino
Romeo Cascarino
Romeo Cascarino was an American composer of classical music.His music is generally tonal, and his magnum opus is the opera William Penn, whose life had fascinated Cascarino since childhood...
.
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, Romeo Cascarino
Romeo Cascarino
Romeo Cascarino was an American composer of classical music.His music is generally tonal, and his magnum opus is the opera William Penn, whose life had fascinated Cascarino since childhood...
, Dolores Ferraro, Frank Versaci, Joseph Primavera, Keith Chapman
Keith Chapman
For organist Keith Chapman , see Keith Chapman Keith V. Chapman is a television writer and producer based in the United Kingdom who most notably created Bob the Builder.-Biography:...
, 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 Rudolph Steiner Foundation, which sent distinguished composer and Combs alumnus Paul Nordoff
Paul Nordoff
Paul Nordoff was an American composer and music therapist. His music is generally tonal and neo-Romantic in style.-Career:...
to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
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
Center City, Philadelphia
Center City, or Downtown Philadelphia includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. As of 2005, its population of over 88,000 made it the third most populous downtown in the United States, after New York City's and Chicago's...
to the city's West Mount Airy
Mount Airy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mount Airy is a neighborhood of Northwest Philadelphia in the state of Pennsylvania.-Boundaries:Mount Airy is bounded on the northwest by the Cresheim Valley, which is part of Fairmount Park. Beyond this lies Chestnut Hill. On the west side is the Wissahickon Gorge, which is also part of Fairmount...
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-38 acres (153,780.7 m²) campus in Radnor, Pennsylvania
Radnor, Pennsylvania
Radnor is a wealthy Main Line township. It is an unincorporated community in Radnor Township of Delaware County and Tredyffrin Township of Chester County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It lies near the communities of Villanova and St...
. 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
Academy of Music (Philadelphia)
The Academy of Music, also known as American Academy of Music, is a concert hall and opera house located at Broad and Locust Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1857 and is the oldest opera house in the United States that is still used for its original purpose...
in 1982.
The college moved back to Philadelphia in 1987 to the campus of Spring Garden College
Spring Garden College
Spring Garden College, established as the Spring Garden Institute in 1851, was a private technical college founded in Spring Garden, Pennsylvania . Its building at 523-25 North Broad Street was designed by architect Stephen Decatur Button.The college closed in the 1990s...
. 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 Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
- The National Association for Music Therapy
- The American Association of Music Therapy
- The Pennsylvania Department of Education (for teacher certification}
Notable alumni
Notable Combs alumni include:- Edward W. Arian, bassist, Philadelphia Orchestra, Chairman of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, educator, author
- Cobb Bussinger, composer, orchestrator
- Lucy E.Carroll, organist, educator, author
- John ColtraneJohn ColtraneJohn William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
, saxophonist, composer - Marc CoplandMarc CoplandMarc Copland is an American jazz pianist and composer.Copland became part of the jazz scene in Philadelphia in the early 1960s as a saxophonist, and later moved to New York where he experimented with electric alto saxophone...
, jazz pianist - Mathew Della Polla, conductor, arranger
- Khan Jamal, jazz vibraphonist
- Gail Levin, music therapist, author
- Herbert Levin, music therapist, author
- Robert MannoRobert MannoRobert Manno 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 beauty." Ned Rorem has described his music as “maximally personal and...
,composer,conductor,Windham Chamber Music Festival - James G. Massey, educator, conductor
- Vincent PersichettiVincent PersichettiVincent Ludwig Persichetti was an American composer, teacher, and pianist. An important musical educator and writer, Persichetti was a native of Philadelphia...
,composer,author,educator - Robert T.Sataloff M.D. voice specialist, singer, conductor, author, and educator
Honorary degrees
Recipients of honorary Doctor of Music (D.Mus) degrees from Combs included:- Marian AndersonMarian AndersonMarian Anderson was an African-American contralto and one of the most celebrated singers of the twentieth century...
, contralto - Samuel BarberSamuel BarberSamuel Osborne Barber II was an American composer of orchestral, opera, choral, and piano music. His Adagio for Strings is his most popular composition and widely considered a masterpiece of modern classical music...
, composer, pianist, singer - Harold BoatriteHarold BoatriteHarold Boatrite is 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 took part in the orchestration seminars of Aaron Copland...
, composer, educator - Romeo CascarinoRomeo CascarinoRomeo Cascarino was an American composer of classical music.His music is generally tonal, and his magnum opus is the opera William Penn, whose life had fascinated Cascarino since childhood...
, composer, pianist, arranger, educator - Keith ChapmanKeith ChapmanFor organist Keith Chapman , see Keith Chapman Keith V. Chapman is a television writer and producer based in the United Kingdom who most notably created Bob the Builder.-Biography:...
, composer, organist at the Wanamaker OrganWanamaker OrganThe Wanamaker Grand Court Organ, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the largest operational pipe organ in the world, located within a spacious 7-story court at Macy's Center City . The largest organ by some measures is the Boardwalk Hall Auditorium Organ... - Mischa Elman, concert violinist
- Marc Mostovoy, conductor, founder, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia
- Paul NordoffPaul NordoffPaul Nordoff was an American composer and music therapist. His music is generally tonal and neo-Romantic in style.-Career:...
, composer, music therapist, author - Temple PainterTemple PainterTemple Painter is an American harpsichordist and organist.Temple Painter has performed as solo organist with members of the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center under Hermann Scherchen, as harpsichord soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy, and as solo harpsichordist for...
, concert harpsichordist, organist, pianist, educator - Vincent PersichettiVincent PersichettiVincent Ludwig Persichetti was an American composer, teacher, and pianist. An important musical educator and writer, Persichetti was a native of Philadelphia...
, composer, author, educator - Leopold StokowskiLeopold StokowskiLeopold Anthony Stokowski was a British-born, naturalised American orchestral conductor, well known for his free-hand performing style that spurned the traditional baton and for obtaining a characteristically sumptuous sound from many of the great orchestras he conducted.In America, Stokowski...
, conductor - Mary Louise Curtis Bok ZimbalistMary Louise Curtis Bok ZimbalistMary Louise Curtis Bok , was the founder of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. She was the only child of the magazine and newspaper magnate, Cyrus Curtis and Louisa Knapp Curtis, the founder and editor of the Ladies Home Journal...
, founder, Curtis Institute of Music
Additionally, Combs awarded honorary Doctor of Humane Letters (D.H.L.) degrees to notables including:
- Pearl S. BuckPearl S. BuckPearl Sydenstricker Buck also known by her Chinese name Sai Zhenzhu , was an American writer who spent most of her time until 1934 in China. Her novel The Good Earth was the best-selling fiction book in the U.S. in 1931 and 1932, and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1932...
, author, philanthropist - Thatcher Longstreth, civic leader, Philadelphia City Councilman