Charles Fowler Papers Finding Aid

Scope and Content | Biography | Chronology | Series Description

Introduction

Collection name: Charles Fowler Papers
Repository name: Special Collections in Performing Arts, Performing Arts Library, University of Maryland
Type: Papers
Collection dates: 1960s – 1995
Extent: approximately 120 linear feet
Description: Written and recorded material created or consulted by Charles Fowler. Gift to the University of Maryland Libraries from Dr. Fowler. Sent in three parts: July 1992, October 1992, and December 1995. Unpublished finding aids both on paper and in a wordprocessed, digitally searchable format are available in the repository.
Organization: The materials have been arranged in series and subseries as appropriate, described briefly below.

Scope and Content Note

The professional and personal papers of Charles Fowler (1931-1995), eminent American arts advocate, educator, editor, writer and philosopher fill 236 boxes. The collection consists of published and unpublished articles, including related research and correspondence; published reports, pamphlets and educational materials; chapters written in books; authored and edited books, including personal copies of each; unpublished keynote addresses and speeches; reports of studies and projects, presentations at conferences, seminars and symposia; unpublished scripts, recorded interviews and speeches on audio and video cassettes, slides, and photographs; and personal resources. Many of the files include Dr. Fowler’s comments on the situations and circumstances surrounding the development of his works.

Biography

Charles B. Fowler (1931-1995), American writer and consultant in the arts, was noted for his activity and commentary in the field of arts education. A prolific author, he wrote more than two hundred articles as well as books, reports and other works. Fowler frequently spoke at arts and arts education gatherings, providing insightful views on the state of the arts nationally. For fifteen years (1974-1989) he served as Education Editor of Musical America Magazine, reporting “On Education” across the country. From 1966 to 1971 he was editor of Music Educators Journal. His last publications were Sing!, a textbook for secondary school choral classes (Hinshaw, 1988), the widely acclaimed sequel to Coming to Our Senses: Can We Rescue the Arts for America’s Children (American Council for the Arts, 1988), entitled Strong Arts, Strong Schools (Oxford University Press, 1996) and Music! Its Role and Importance in Our Lives, a textbook appropriate for high school and introductory college courses (Glencoe/Macmillan/McGraw-Hill, 1994). From 1989 until 1993, Dr. Fowler served as director of National Cultural Resources, Inc.

As a practitioner of several arts and with an extensive background in teaching on every level, Dr. Fowler championed the cause of arts education as an essential part of every person’s education. He was a guest professor at a number of American universities, participated in numerous educational projects and symposia, and lectured on the subject of arts education throughout the United States and abroad. His degrees included a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from the Crane School of Music, SUNY at Potsdam, a Master of Music from Northwestern University and a Doctor of Musical Arts (with a minor in fine arts) from Boston University. He was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award from Boston University in 1990 and an honorary doctorate from the Crane School of Music in 1995.

Dr. Fowler wrote educational materials for the New York Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He was the writer for the grand opening of Epcot Center for Walt Disney Productions, the grand opening of Knoxville World’s Fair, the annual Christmas pageant at the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California, and several National Public Radio programs. He prepared scripts for Jose Ferrer, Richard Thomas, Gregory Peck, President Gerald Ford, and Dinah Shore, among others.

Chronology

1931 Born 12 May, Peekskill, NY
1948-52 Undergraduate education, SUNY at Potsdam
1952-56 Taught music, K through 8, Rochester, New York
1956-57 Completed MM degree, Northwestern University
1957-62 Assistant Professor of Music, Mansfield State College and Supervisor of Vocal Music, Mansfield Junior and Senior High Schools
1962-64 Completed DMA degree at Boston University on a Danforth Foundation Teacher Study Grant
1964-65 Associate Professor of Music, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb
1965-71 Editor, Music Educators Journal, Music Educators National Conference; Director of Publications, 1970-71
1971-73 Consultant and Writer, Walt Disney Productions and other organizations and associations
1973-75 Specialist in the arts, Manager of Publications, National Recreation and Park Association and Editor-in-Chief, Parks & Recreation Magazine, National Parks & Conservation Magazine
1974-89 Education Editor, Musical America
1989-1993 Director, National Cultural Resources, Inc.
1995 Died 12 June, Washington, DC

Series Description

Series I Correspondence
This series consists of general correspondence in order by name or subject, and also miscellaneous correspondence arranged by year.
Correspondence can also be found in Series II (Subject Files).

I-1 Alphabetical Correspondence (Boxes 1-3)

I-2 Chronological Correspondence (Boxes 4-6)

Series II Subject Files
This series consists of a wide range of materials collected by Charles Fowler throughout his career. It is divided into three subseries, all arranged in alphabetical order.

II-1 Alphabetical Subject Files (Boxes 7-78)
The alphabetical subject files contain materials associated with most of Fowler’s professional activities. There are numerous files relating to Fowler’s work with Radio City Music Hall, the Mississippi Arts Commission, National Cultural Resources, Disney’s Epcot Center and the National Endowment for the Arts.

II-2 Curriculum Files (Boxes 79-80)
Included in the Curriculum files are guidelines for arts education in various cities and states.

II-3 Reports and Studies (Boxes 81-84)
The Reports and Studies files consist of reports and studies on arts education written by other authors. Reports written or edited by Fowler can be found in Series III, Subseries 3.

Series III Writings
Writings include books, chapters in books, articles, reports, pamphlets, educational materials, speeches, scripts, and coursework written by or edited by Charles Fowler from 1963 through 1995. Included as well are Fowler’s research, drafts and other materials related to these works.
Other files associated with the items in this series can also be found in Series II (Subject Files).
This series is subdivided into six subseries, each arranged in chronological order:

III-1 Authored and Edited Books

III-1.1 Books Authored or Edited by Fowler (Boxes 85-104)
Boxes 91-104 contain materials associated with Fowler’s music text, Music! Its Role and Importance in Our Lives.

III-1.2 Chapters Published in Books by Other Authors
(Boxes 105-107)

III-1.3 Unpublished Books (Boxes 107-108)
Fowler’s dissertation is included in this subseries.

III-2 Published Articles

III-2.1 Articles in Musical America (Boxes 109-123)

III-2.2 Articles in Other Journals (Boxes 124-131)

III-3 Reports, Pamphlets and Educational Materials

III-3.1 Published (Boxes 131-138)

III-3.2 Unpublished (Boxes 138-149)

III-4 Keynote Addresses and Speeches (Boxes 150-162)
This subseries contains published and unpublished articles, notes, letters, and programs.

III-5 Scripts (Boxes 162-166)
This subseries contains unpublished scripts written by Fowler for National Public Radio, EPCOT Center, Crystal Cathedral and various other organizations.

III-6 Coursework (Boxes 167-169)
This subseries contains Charles Fowler’s class notes and papers for courses he took at SUNY Potsdam, Northeastern University and Boston University.

III-7 Poetry (Box 169)
This subseries contains several unpublished poems by Fowler.

Series IV Teaching and Conducting (Box 170)
This series contains programs, newspaper clippings, teaching appointments and other materials related to Charles Fowler’s teaching and conducting activities. It is arranged in alphabetical order.

Series V Diaries

V-1 Appointment Books and Address Books (Boxes 171-173)
This subseries contains appointment books arranged in chronological order for the years 1971 to 1995.

V-2 Journals (Box 174)
This subseries contains travel journals and personal diaries arranged in chronological order.

Series VI Personal and Family Papers (Boxes 175-177)
This series includes personal photographs, correspondence between Fowler and his parents and grandmother, legal documents, notes on family genealogy and a variety of other materials related to Fowler’s personal life.

Series VII Music Scores by Fowler (Box 178)
This series contains unpublished scores composed or arranged by Fowler. The series is arranged in alphabetical order.

Series VIII Audio Recordings

VIII-1 Cassette Tapes (Boxes 179-183)
Included in this subseries are listening examples and sources for Fowler’s text, Music! Its Role and Importance in Our Lives as well as interviews with Fowler and work Fowler did with National Public Radio and other organizations. The series is arranged in alphabetical order.

VIII-2 Reel-to-Reel Tapes (Box 184)
This subseries consists of recordings of Fowler’s Houston Urban Project, one of his compositions as well as work Fowler did with MEJ and Youth Music.

VIII-3 LP Recordings (“Box” 185)
This subseries contains two Metropolitan Opera Box sets with books by Fowler as well as Living Nativity and World Symphony Orchestra recordings.

VIII-4 Compact Discs (“Box” 186)
This subseries consists of the boxed set of CDs, that accompany Fowler’s text, Music! Its Role and Importance in Our Lives.

Series IX Video Recordings (Box 187)
This series includes video recordings of speeches presented by Fowler and a Music! Its Role and Importance in Our Lives video tape.

Series X Computer Disks (Box 188)
This Series consists of 90 computer disks (88 are 5.25-inches in diameter and two are 3.5 inches). Included with each disk is a directory printout. The disks contain letters, speeches, articles and a variety of other materials.

Series XI Photographic Materials

XI-1 Photoprints (Boxes 189-196)
Boxes 189-196 each contain approximately 60 folders with from one to six photographs in each. These photographs were selected as most closely pertaining to Fowler’s career. Copies of photographs can be found in Series II, Subseries 1, Box 56.

XI-2 Negatives (Box 197)

XI-3 Slides (Boxes 198-199)
This subseries contains slides used by Fowler for his speeches and presentations and slides from his world travels.

XI-4 Overhead Transparencies (Box 200)
This subseries includes transparencies used in Fowler’s presentations.

Series XII Artwork

XII-1 Artwork by Fowler (Box 201)
This subseries contains childhood artwork and photographs of paintings by Fowler.

XII-2 Artwork Pertaining to Music Educators Journal (Boxes 202-205)
This subseries contains artwork used for MEJ issues from 1969 to 1971 when Fowler was editor.

Series XIII Awards (Boxes 206-208)
This series contains diplomas and other awards won by Fowler from 1944 to 1995. It is arranged in chronological order.

Series XIV Realia (Boxes 209-211)
This series contains a pin collection and a variety of trinkets that Fowler collected in his travels and professional activities.

Series XV Resources
This series contain materials used by Fowler in research and development of his ideas and works.

XV-1 Annotated Books (Boxes 212-223)

XV-2 Annotated Journals (Box 224)

XV-3 Clippings (Boxes 225-228)

XV-4 Music Scores (Box 229)

XV-5 Recordings (Boxes 231-233)

XV-6 Videos (Boxes 234-235)

XV-7 Artwork (box 236)

Materials from this collection must be used in the the Performing Arts Library's Irving and Margery Morgan Lowens Special Collections Room, 10 to 5, Monday through Friday. Please make an appointment with the curator.

Or for a specific question about the collection feel free to ask the curator.

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