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Hamline's Music History		 Movements in Music
FORTE! Home Instrumental: Choral:
1854-1872 1920-1950 1920-1950
1880-1910 1950-1970 1950-1970
1910-1920 1970-Present 1970-Present

Hamline University

Using Works Cited: Due to the amount of research that was necessary in compiling such a complete history, and sheer number of student researchers, our Works Cited listings may be different from what you are used to. The references to our Works Cited page can be found in ( ). The first number in the ( ) refers to the corresponding reference number on the Works Cited page found at the end of this document. The second number after the comma (if it exists) represents the page number of the source from which the information was taken. Please keep in mind that each movement has its own Works Cited page, there may be more movement information found beneath it. If you have any questions about the source information that is found on this page please contact the Hamline Archives or email us! Thank you.

1950-1970
Instrumental

In 1948 Russell G. Harris was appointed to succeed Ernest Krenek as chair of the music department and professor of music at Hamline University. He spent his time at Hamline directing the band and composing music. He was also dedicated to increasing interest in music on campus. During the early 1960s he would lecture every other week on a different musical topic. Often he would use this time to show off a rare book or piece of music from Hamline's collection. Also during the 1960s, Harris arranged for one or more of the campus music organizations to give weekly educational recitals in order to give the general student body more opportunities to participate in and enjoy music performances. In addition to these commitments, Harris also spent time to construct harpsichords while at Hamline. Harris resigned as department chair in 1971 so that he could devote more time to composing. However, he remained a member of Hamline's faculty until 1971. He also stayed active in the local, state, and national music communities through such organizations as the International Society for Contemporary Music and the National Association of Schools of Music. For three decades, Russell Harris played a large role in the expansion and development of the music department at Hamline.

Thomas Nee:
Thomas Nee was born October 25, 1920 in Evanston Illinois. Nee's family never stayed in more than one place for too long. He moved from Illinois, Oklahoma and then to Iowa where his family finally settled in a small town called Albert Lea. Nee began his music lessons at an early age, with pressure from his parents. Nee especially remembers his mother's persistence in his trumpet lessons. Every day he remembered having to practice at least a couple of hours in the evening.

Nee's passion for music finally became his own in high school when he started as the student director of the school band. After high school Nee knew he wanted a career in music and things started to fall into place. In Junior college he directed his own Dance Band (big band). After Nee's two years at Junior college he got his undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota in 1940. (1)

After graduating from the University of Minnesota in 1943, Nee went into the teaching profession at Lake Mills in Iowa. He taught at Lake Mills for a year and then went to teach in Osage, a lager town. After his undergraduate work at the University of Minnesota Nee was still very much interested in the Minneapolis Symphony. In fact, while Nee was teaching at both schools in Iowa he commuted to the Twin Cities every time the Symphony performed. (2) One night in 1945 when Nee attended a concert of the Minneapolis Symphony, they performed a piece of Ernst Krenek. Nee was profoundly impacted by Krenek's piece. He felt that Krenek's style was new and exciting. Nee realized it was imperative that he would study under the genius of Ernst Krenek.

At the end of the 1945, Nee gave up teaching in Iowa and resigned from Osage. Nee proceeded to Minneapolis to take some courses at Hamline University, with the intention to study under the great Ernst Krenek. While taking classes at Hamline he taught at North St. Paul High School. After one year of taking classes at Hamline, Nee decided to make his involvement more permanent. Krenek had made such an impression on Nee that he decided to apply for the Masters Program in 1946. Nee was promptly accepted, and Hamline, in turn, hired Nee as a part time band director. He was also in charge of the second choir while Robert Holliday had the main choir (A Capella). In Nee's second year at the University, Hamline decided to offer more music classes. Nee was offered, and accepted the position as an Assistant Professor of Music Education in 1947. The new classes that he took over included Music Education and Music Literature. Nee eventually quit his job at North St. Paul High School, and began working for the Hamline music department full time. (3)

In 1947-1948, while teaching various classes at Hamline, he created and directed the Hamline Symphony. This started as a community orchestra, and once a week they gave concerts on the Hamline campus for the community. The music department sponsored the symphony, but very few Hamline students were involved. The Hamline Symphony was very unique in that it was a community-based orchestra. It was one of two small college orchestras that existed in the Twin Cities area at that time. (4) At the same time Nee created the Hamline Symphony, he started working with the band. Nee tried to recreate his high school and junior college days by directing the band at certain sporting events. The Hamline band played at football and basketball games. Band members were not required to play for these events, so everyone who participated volunteered. Although band members were not required to attend the games, Nee recalls at least fifty to sixty men and women who would attend each sporting event. The band played the school fight songs and various other collective pieces to encourage school spirit. (1)

Late in 1948, Nee proposed a new commission plan for students. The new plan had students at Hamline University being commissioned to write compositions for the university orchestra and arranged to have Hamline pay for their work. Nee boasted that this plan had never been tried before at any other university. The compositions written by the students were to be played at the concerts during the year's regular musical program session. Unfortunately, the plan never followed-through as Hamline decided not to pay the students for the pieces they created. Although Hamline did not finance student compositions they continued to create them for the orchestra. (5)

In 1951-1952 Nee took a year sabbatical from Hamline and studied in Vienna, Austria with the Fulbright Scholarship under Hans Swarosky and Hermann Scherchen. Acquiring the scholarship was not a problem with a recommendation from Krenek. He took classes and helped direct and teach various choirs. Nee commented that he was very thankful for the opportunity to study in Austria. He felt that after one year at the Academy his musical talent had matured significantly. (1)

After Nee returned from Austria he expressed his views about the troubles that were going on in Austria, and how much the community of each town was affected by the music that was generated at their concerts. Nee shared his view of Hamline and how important its relationship with the community was: "Hamline was very much considered a community center, and the choir was the hot campus high light. Besides the choir there were so many other aspects of the university. During the forties and fifties Hamline was a formative school with departments in the Theater, Choir, Band, and Art. Each of the departments took chances and dabbled in new exciting ways of expression, ideas that changed the face of Hamline forever." (1)

When Nee was asked about the graduate music department (masters program) at Hamline University, he strongly felt that "Ernest Krenek was the graduate music program." Nee and many other students were drawn to Krenek's ability. Krenek had a gift for teaching, not to mention composing and performing his craft. Krenek with help from Dimitri Mitropoulos who had directed the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, and Luis Krasner, concert master of the Minnesota Orchestra. These three men had a series of concerts, performing new music every year, often presenting new and sometimes off-beat music. These concerts showcased music that the people form Minnesota had ever experienced before. Nee and the other students in the graduate program could not help but be influenced by the contemporary music that was being produced and taught at Hamline. However this contemporary style in music could not last forever.

In 1949 Ernst Krenek left for the West, after resigning from Hamline University in the fall of 1947. Russell Harris took over as chair of the department, but did not have quite the same capabilities as Krenek. Soon after Krenek left the University the Masters Degree Program seemed to fade with him. Unfortunately there was not enough students enrolling to keep the program going. However, contemporary music was still strong at this time. The concerts of new music that began with Krenek were kept going by the International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM). The ISCM sponsored the new off beat music concerts pulsating throughout the fifties and sixties. However, in the begging of the fifties, Hamline lost its new music edge, and the concerts soon diminished. Striving for new contemporary music was such a vital part of the music at Hamline, but this became less and less important to Hamline in the future. (1)

In 1953, Nee was chosen to attend the American Symphony Orchestra League workshop. This was a very big deal for Nee. He participated in three of the workshops, the first of which was held in Philadelphia, the second in Pittsburgh, and the last in Cleveland. These workshops were set up to evaluate ones style and graces when conducting or teaching.

Nee praised these workshops, and cited them for his continued success in music education. At these workshops he was able to compare notes and learn new techniques that he could bring back to the Hamline Symphony to share with his students. (6)

The Hamline Symphony was started by Nee in 1948 and continued until its final dissemination about ten-fifteen years ago. While Nee was at Hamline working with the Symphony opportunities arose with the Minneapolis Civic Orchestra. (7) In 1954 the head of the Civic Orchestra retired and Nee was asked to take over as the conductor. Nee then directed both the Hamline Symphony and Civic Orchestra, receiving great pleasure from participating in both. The problem Nee faced was the growing tension between himself and Russell Harris, the head of Hamline's music department. It seems that Nee and Harris butted heads over the next couple of years one to many times, and Nee felt it was time to leave. In 1957 Nee resigned from Hamline University, but still continued to direct the Hamline Symphony and the Civic Orchestra.

While directing the Symphony and the Orchestra, Nee acquired yet another job with Schmidt Music. He worked for Schmidt for the next year a half until 1958 when he accepted a job at Maclaster College. He worked at Maclaster until 1967 with a man named Vincent Carpenter. It seemed that Carpenter was a student at Hamline when Krenek was head of the music department. At Maclaster Nee taught various classes including Theory, Composition and Music Literature. Nee enjoyed his years at Maclaster, although it was not quite as enterprising in music as Nee had been use to at Hamline. During his teaching at Maclaster, Nee kept in close contact with Hamline University through corresponding with his close friend Robert Holliday. (1)

In keeping with his Hamline ties, Nee was asked to be director of the music at the Unitarian Center. This was not an actual center but a group of people's ideas: a form of religion that people believed in which dated back to the 1700's. It was a Society that considered themselves "Humanists." These people did not believe in God or Satan, but in human beings. From 1959-1967 Nee was not only apart of the Unitarian Center for personal reasons, but was commissioned to do pieces for the their chamber orchestra. According to Nee, the Unitarian Center was "a place where a lot of new and exciting music was being played." (1)

During Nee's time at Maclaster he was constantly involved with a variety of programs. One of the most significant accomplishments Nee remembers is helping start the Minnesota Opera, which took up a great deal of his time. Being part of starting an opera was a dream come true for Nee. Ever sense his first experience with the opera as a child he had wanted to be a part of it. This Minnesota Opera was an opportunity for Nee to achieve his life long goal, and start something great for the surrounding communities. (1)

Nee finally resigned from Macalester in 1967 and moved to California. He took some time off from music and spent time with his family. In 1971, he got a job at University of California, San Diego. (2) At UCSD, Nee taught many classes, and was employed as a full-time professor. Nee was the director of the orchestra at UCSD as well as the music director at the La Jolla Symphony and Choirs. Nee had made a tremendous contribution to the San Diego community with his thirty years as music director. Nee officially retired in 1991 from full time teaching responsibilities, but he continued to conduct the La Jolla Symphony until his final retirement in 1997. Nee, although retired, is still very much involved with the La Jolla Symphony. Nee makes a point to contribute a great deal of his time to help new and exciting music progress for many more years to come. (1)

Works Cited

Macalester College Archives. 1998 Thomas Nee. (2)
"Nee Proposes New Commission Plan." Oracle, October 9, 1947. (5)
"Reviewer Hails Debut of Hamline Symphony." Oracle, February 12, 1948. (4)
"Music Pofs Aid Movie." Oracle, May 9, 1941.
"Mitropoulos to be guest Artist." Oracle November 28, 1941.
"Coolidge String Quartet to Give Three Concerts." Oracle, October 31, (Photograph).
"Mitropoulos to Conduct Verrall's 'Portrait of Man' at Symphony tonight."Oracle, March 14, 1941.
"Performance Soon." Oracle, March 7,1941, (Photograph).
"Thomas Nee's Band Concerts." Oracle, January 16, 1953. (3)
"Nee's Chamber Music Performed by Cullen." Oracle, March 8, 1953.
"Thomas Nee's Marching Band Gets New Uniforms." Oracle, October 9,1953.
"Nee Studies With Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra." Oracle, November 18, 1953. (6)
"Nee Appointed Conductor of Civic Orchestra." Oracle, September 23, 1953. (7)
"Band Concert With Nee and Harris." Oracle, December 8, 1954.
Macalester Archives. Staff File, October 25, 1920.
Thomas Nee Interviewed by Adam McDonald and Sarah Matze, October 22, 1998. (1)
John Verrall, STRING QUARTET, No. III. Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania: Theodore Presser, no date given.

FORTE! Home Instrumental: Choral:
1854-1872 1920-1950 1920-1950
1880-1910 1950-1970 1950-1970
1910-1920 1970-Present 1970-Present

Hamline University