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 “I have fond
memories of the friendships of all involved with The Midwest Clinic
and the faculty and students of VanderCook.” – Richard
E. Brittain, 2006
Renowned music educator Richard E. Brittain served on The Midwest
Clinic’s Board of Directors from 1974-2006 and received The
Midwest Clinic’s Medal of Honor in 1996. A man of deep loyalties,
Brittain was also involved with VanderCook College of Music for much
of his life. He received his BM ED, MM ED, and Honorary Doctorate
from VanderCook, and devoted himself to the college in many capacities,
including serving as its President from 1975-1982, and as Band Conductor
for thirty years. He conducted the band at The Midwest Clinic for
twenty-seven years, presenting over fifty new works. Brittain and
his wife, Sofia, were involved in their Westchester, Illinois community
for half a century. Their children, Bonnie and Robert, were airline
employees who helped Richard and Sofia visit over thirty countries
and learn about the cultures of many nations.
Here, we remember Richard E. Brittain with an interview he gave upon
his retirement from The Midwest Clinic Board of Directors.
How did you choose music education as a career?
I was the student director of the Frankfort, Indiana High School
Band conducted by Aubrey Thomas, a VanderCook School of Music graduate.
(In 1950, School of Music was changed to College of Music to better
depict the scope and level of its degree program.) Mr. Thomas observed
my efforts and suggested I choose music education as a career and
attend VanderCook. I enrolled there in 1935. During my high school
years, I organized a dance band under the name of Eddie Britt, and
several of its members enrolled at the school along with me.
Who were your musical mentors and what were the greatest lessons
they taught you?
H. E. Nutt, the third President of VanderCook College, was my leading
mentor. His forte was teaching basics to young students with original
materials he developed such as his Scale and Rhythm Card and Prelim
Rim. I studied with other learned professors such as: Hale A. VanderCook,
Guy Earl Holmes, Clifford Lillya, Leeson, John H. Beckerman, Lillian
Poenisch, Joseph Olivadoti, Harris V. Bergh, Merle Isaac, Clarence
F. Gates, and Ralph C. Lewis. Theirs was a process of teaching how
to learn to be humble, to analyze music theories, develop good work
habits, and organize what needs to be accomplished so as to move
on to greater heights.
If you could give a young band or orchestra director some advice
about developing his or her musicianship and becoming a better teacher,
what would it be?
The young director must face and make a difficult decision: do I
intend to be a professional performer or a music conductor with teaching
and musical skills. A performance choice should probably study with
performance professionals and learn the literature needed for performing.
The music education conductor choice should seek an education from
a college noted for featuring knowledge of all instruments and teaching
techniques. Either decision should place great emphasis on a high
degree of skill on one’s major instrument. A music education
major can still find time for performing.
How did the 1946 new band music reading session that was the origin
of The Midwest Clinic come about and what was your role in this event?
At the end of my military service late in 1946, I returned to VanderCook
to continue a teaching career and help plan a music reading session
to bring directors materials missed during the four years of war.
Arrangements were made to have the event on Saturday, December 7,
1946, in the gym of a local YWCA. H. E. Nutt, Neil Kjos Sr., Howard
Lyons, Harold Bachman and I were some members of a core of musical
experts who invited local directors to "sit in" with the
VanderCook Band in performing the new issues. About 120 were in attendance
and at the end of the day Howard Lyons declared, "This is a
great service for teachers and should be taken downtown." At
that time, it was agreed that Lyons Band Instrument Co. would finance
the clinic and VanderCook would perform and schedule other musical
events.
 How did this reading session become an annual event and what were
the most important changes in the first few years?
Flushed with the success of the 1946 reading session, the planners
decided to have a December 1947 repeat effort at the Hotel Sherman.
This was to be for two days under a new name: Mid-West Band Clinic.
By invitation, the Joliet High School Band was the first group to
present a formal concert on Friday evening. VanderCook performed
the next morning and spent the afternoon with "sit ins" reading
new music. Eighty new pieces were played in the two days. Each band
was to perform fifty percent new music and include two easy selections
on their programs; this request set a precedent for future programs.
The future also brought about the election of officers, incorporating
with the State of Illinois, a Constitution with By-Laws, and a geographic
expansion of performing musicians. The mission of the clinic is to
perform new compositions and present expert clinicians to demonstrate
fundamental teaching and performance techniques to assist music educators
with their careers.
What are your recollections of this reading session and other organizers?
The first Clinic had a friendly, informal atmosphere, with guest
conductors for the "reading session" volunteering from
the audience. Scores were placed on a table and directors could pick
a new publication to conduct. Some composers and arrangers were present
and offered insight into the interpretation of their works. It was
a beautiful sight to observe old friends greeting each other and
others making new friends. There were no printed programs or recordings
of the 1946 forerunner of The Midwest Clinic. I conducted the first
number, which was a march written by Henry Fillmore titled Mt. Horeb,
after a resort community in Wisconsin. Music was furnished by Kjos
Music, Educational Music Bureau, Carl Fischer, Rubank, and Gamble
Hinged Music. These publishers all felt that all levels of music
needed to be published and presented. This still is one of the foundations
of The Midwest Clinic.
Can you tell us about the role that VanderCook College of Music has
played in The Midwest Clinic?
VanderCook School of Music was a founder of The Midwest Clinic and
its band will have performed a concert at each of the 60 years through
2006. As a “Van-Grad” with organizational experience,
Lee Petersen was invited to help plan the 1946 reading session and
his skills led to his becoming the first Executive Secretary of the
clinic. His responsibilities included organizing the complete clinic
programs and program books, arranging for clinics and clinicians,
working with directors of performing groups, providing facilities
for exhibitors, and registering clinic attendees. The faculty and
administration worked with Lee until 1969 when he retired and moved
to California. VanderCook has been active in all aspects of the clinic
since its inception. In 1948 there was a need for a better way to
display the scores of the music to be played. As a solution, H.E.
Nutt and I secured lumber for counter space to show the music and
supported the lumber with various lengths of one-inch pipe threaded
on both ends. Threaded flanges were attached on each end of the pipes
to make display areas of different heights.
What have been the most significant changes to The Midwest Clinic
in the last sixty years?
It is evident that there has been a huge increase in female teachers
and conductors of instrumental music in the past 60 years. The philosophy
and practice of practical ideas expanded to include the artistry
of performance and presentation of more difficult publications. The
quality of instruments and music accessories such as stands, chairs,
risers, and uniforms were improved over the span of time. The introduction
of exhibits completed the circle of music education for those in
attendance.
As you look back through your history with The Midwest Clinic, what
events stand out as your favorite memories?
Fate dealt me a wonderful hand in that my career has been full of
outstanding events: receiving The Midwest Clinic Medal of Honor 1996
and Honorary Doctorate of Music Education from VanderCook 1988, and
the joy of presenting such great soloists as Doc Severinsen, Louis
Bellson, Vincent Abato, and Sigard Rascher. I have fond memories
of the friendships of all involved with The Midwest Clinic and the
faculty and students of VanderCook.
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