Albert Alphin collection, 1921-1974

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.