Developments in String Education 1864-1900

After the end civil war, the public's interest in instrumental music began to grow. Traveling bands and orchestras had much to do with generating this interest. The Theodore Thomas Orchestra toured frequently, and played in almost every sizable community. Thomas (1825-1905) conducted the Cincinnati May Festival from 1873 to 1905, later became conductor of the New York Philharmonic Society, and founded the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Thomas was one of the most important figures in American instrumental music at that time. Also in the late 1800s, large festivals and celebrations exposed many people to instrumental music. In the spirit of Gilmore's "Peace Jubilees," members of the Benjamin family and others were now operating free violin schools in New York, Philadelphia, Camden, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Chicago. The Benjamins decided to hold annual "Children's Carnivals" in Brooklyn and other cities. These carnivals would typically feature choirs of 1500 and orchestras of 300 or more, and often played to large audiences.

Several music conservatories were established in America at this time, based on the European conservatories. Newly created American conservatories included New England, Peabody, Oberlin, Boston, Chicago, and Cincinnati. The teachers at the conservatories of that time also taught students in classes. The repertoire studied at the conservatories was European Art music, and most of the teachers were either European, or trained in Europe. Many students were admitted, but only the top students were graduated. By the turn of the century, this system of training students was losing its popularity, and enrollments dropped significantly at conservatories.

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