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Albert Alphin collection, 1921-1974

 Collection
Identifier: BCB-015

Scope and Contents

Materials produced by and about Albert Alphin, President of the Boston Conservatory (1933-1967, primarily writings and speeches, professional correspondence, and assorted biographical and memorial materials, including photographs. The collection offers insight into the history of the Conservatory’s renaissance through its amalgamation with Alphin’s National Associated Studios of Music in the 1930s and its expansion through the 1940s and 50s.

Dates

  • Creation: 1921-1974

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research by appointment. Advance notice is required for access because materials are stored offsite.

Conditions Governing Use

Materials from Berklee Archives are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. Permission to examine materials, or to obtain copies, does not imply the right to publish, exhibit, or broadcast them, in whole or in part.

Copyright status varies across the collection. Visitors and researchers are solely responsible for determining the copyright status of any materials they may wish to use, making fair use determinations, investigating the owner(s) of the copyright and, where necessary, obtaining permission for the intended use. For additional information regarding copyright, fair use, and reproduction services, please consult our Access and Use Policies.

Biographical / Historical

Albert Alphin (1900-1973) enrolled as a student at the Boston Conservatory in 1920, studying composition, organ, piano, and conducting. Following his graduation in 1924, Alphin returned as a teacher of piano and solfeggio through 1927. That year, Alphin established his own collective studio for music instruction, the National Associated Studios of Music (NASM).

President Agide Jacchia's death in 1932 brought on a period of uncertainty for the Conservatory; fearing the collapse of his alma mater, Alphin stepped in as president and amalgamated NASM with the Conservatory to keep it running. As part of the amalgamation, completed in 1935, the school was reestablished as the Boston Conservatory of Music, dropping “and College of Oratory” previously added by President R. Marriner Floyd in 1915. In 1936, Alphin moved to dissolve the Conservatory as a business corporation (having been incorporated in 1896 under Floyd) and reestablish it as a nonprofit organization.

Alphin’s vision for the Conservatory precipitated an major expansion of the faculty; the formation of the dance program (1943, when choreographer and dancer Jan Veen merged his dance studio with the Conservatory); and the creation of the drama program (later the Theater Division) in 1946 with assistance from theater director Harlan F. Grant. Under Alphin, the Conservatory became the first to offer degrees in all three major arts disciplines: dance, music, and theater. In 1938, the Conservatory was authorized to award Bachelor of Music degrees and became the first to offer a degree in music education. In 1951, it was authorized to award Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in drama and dance, becoming the first conservatory to offer an undergraduate degree in drama. Bachelor's degrees in musical theater (another first among conservatories) and masters degrees in both music and music education were offered starting in 1958.

Alphin also led a significant physical expansion of the Conservatory. In 1936, he relocated the school from Huntington Avenue to 26 Fenway, gradually purchasing three additional buildings in the row to use as dormitories. He also oversaw the construction of 31 Hemenway Street—completed in 1949—and the purchase of 54 and 8 The Fenway in the mid-60s.

In 1951, Alphin published the book, Music Theory Fundamentals.

Alphin retired as Conservatory president in 1967, but continued to serve as the school’s treasurer until his death in 1973. The Albert Alphin Library, located at 8 Fenway, was named for him in 1966.

Extent

.5 Cubic Feet (1 half-size manuscript box)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Materials produced by and about Albert Alphin, President of the Boston Conservatory (1933-1967, primarily writings and speeches, professional correspondence, and assorted biographical and memorial materials, including photographs.

Arrangement

This collection has been arranged chronologically.

Custodial History

The majority of materials in this collection were held in multiple offices of the Conservatory and transferred to the archives upon its creation in 2015.

Acquisition History

This collection was compiled from materials previously housed in the Albert Alphin Library and materials donated from the President's and Development offices.

Related Materials

Other presidential collections include:

BCB-013 Julius Eichberg collection

BCB-014 Agide Jacchia collection

BCB-016 Richard Ortner papers

See also BCB-001 Governance records collection for administrative and business documents from Alphin’s time, as well as other materials from executive Conservatory leadership.

Processing Information

Processed by Brendan Higgins, 2017; prepared for ArchivesSpace by Ashley Gray and Thomas Wandborg, 2021. This collection was re-arranged, rehoused, and re-inventoried by Ashley Gray, Collections Archivist, December 2023.

Title
Albert Alphin collection, 1921-1974
Status
Completed
Author
Original description by Brendan Higgins (2017-12-12); prepared for ArchivesSpace by Ashley Gray and Thomas Wandborg, 2021; updated description by Ashley Gray, 2023
Date
2017/12/12
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Revision Statements

  • 2023-12-04: Collection description revised by Ashley Gray, Collections Archivist, to reflect collection re-processing and conform description to DACS.

Repository Details

Part of the Berklee Archives Repository

Contact:
Berklee College of Music
1140 Boylston St
Boston MA 02215 USA
617-747-8001