Conservatory of Music of Kansas City

Conservatory of Music of Kansas City
Location
4420 Warwick Boulevard

Kansas City
,
Missouri

United States
Information
Other namesHorner Institute–Kansas City Conservatory of Music
Kansas City–Horner Conservatory of Music
Former namesKansas City Conservatory of Music and Art (1906-1926)
Horner Institute of Fine Arts (1914-1926)
School typeConservatory prvate
EstablishedJuly 1, 1926
FounderCharles F. Horner
ClosedSeptember 1, 1959

Conservatory of Music of Kansas City was a school of art, music, and drama in Kansas City, Missouri. It formed in 1926 through the merger of the Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Art and the Horner Institute of Fine Arts. In 1959, it became a part of the University of Kansas City, now the University of Missouri–Kansas City.

History

Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Art

John A. Cowan established the Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Art on September 10, 1906.[1][2] Cowan was previously the director of the Oratory and Elocution Department at Manual Training High School in St. Louis.[2] In 1907, the school moved to a three-story building on the corner of Eleventh and Oak Streets.[2]

In 1916, Cowan gave the conservatory to the city of Kansas City, Missouri. Thus, it became the first publicly owned music conservatory in the United States.[1]

Horner Institute of Fine Arts

Horner Institute of Fine Arts was opened by Charles F. Horner and Earl Rosenberg on September 7, 1914.[3][4][5] Horner was a co-founder of the Redpath-Horner Chautauqua and the Lyceum Bureau, the largest promoter of musical programs, lectures, and plays in the United States.[4][6][5] Horner was the institute's president.[7] Rosenberg, a conductor and vocalist from Lindsborg, Kansas, was the institute's founding director.[3][7][5]

Horner Institute opened a rented building at 36th and Broadway in Kansas City, Missouri.[3][7] When it opened, it had 250 students and twelve faculty members.[8] Founding faculty included pianist Floyd Robbins and violist Forrest Schulz, also from Lindsborg.[3] Initially, it trained musicians for Horner's Chautauqua programs, which were held in nine states and were headquartered in Kansas City.[5] However, the institute eventually expanded the needs of the Chautauqua but still focused on training professional musicians..[5] In the fall of 1920, the Horner Institute moved to a new 3,000 square foot facility at 3000 Troost Avenue.[6] At that time, the institute had 1,000 students.[6] In 1923, it had 1,700 students and 37 faculty members.[8]

Merger

On July 1, 1926, Horner Institute absorbed the failing Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Art, forming the Horner Institute–Kansas City Conservatory of Music.[1][9][5] After the merger, Horner remained the school's president.[10] In 1928, it changed its name to Kansas City–Horner Conservatory of Music.[11]

In 1929, the school had 4,000 students and was the third largest music school in the United States.[1] In 1934, the nonprofit school was reorganized as the Conservatory of Music of Kansas City.[9]

On September 1, 1959, the conservatory merged with University of Kansas City, a institution formed from Horner Junior College.[1][4][9] It is now the University of Missouri–Kansas City Conservatory.[1][5]

Campus

It moved to a new location on 19 East Armour Avenue, finally moving to three-acre site at 4420 Warwick Boulevard in August 1951.[9] It also had campus in Kansas City, Kansas. After a $250,000 construction project, the campus expanded to include Grant Hall and Russell Stover Memorial Auditorium in September 1955.[9]

Academics

Kansas City Conservatory of Music taught music (bassoon, clarinet, composition, ensemble playing, flute, harmony, harp, organ, piano, public school music, reed instruments sight reading, violincello, vocal music) and art (china painting, drawing sketch work, oil painting, water color), and drama (dramatic art, elocution, oratory), and languages (French, Italian, Spanish).[2]

Horner Institute of Fine Arts offered Bachelor of Arts degrees and certificates in all branches of music and expression.[6] The school provided instruction in music (harmony, music history, piano, voice, violin), art (pencil sketching, watercolor), and drama (dramatic art, language, public speaking).[7][5]

Student life

The institute had chapters of Sigma Alpha Iota music fraternity for women, Phi Mu Gamma professional arts sorority, Mu Phi Epsilon professional music fraternity, Lambda Phi Delta professional fine arts sorority, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia music fraternity, and Zeta Alpha Chi.[12][13][14][15][10]

Notable people

Following are some of the notable people associated with the Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Arts, Horner Institute of Fine Arts, and the Conservatory of Music of Kansas City.

Alumni

Faculty

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Conservatory History | Conservatory". University of Missouri - Kansas City. Archived from the original on 2025-08-03. Retrieved 2025-10-20.
  2. ^ a b c d "To Teach Music and the Arts". The Kansas City Times. 1906-09-01. p. 1. Retrieved 2025-10-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b c d "To Open a New School of Music". The Kansas City Star. 1914-05-17. p. 41. Retrieved 2025-10-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b c "Charles Horner (1847-1967)". The Kansas City Star. 2000-05-21. p. 264. Retrieved 2025-10-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Lush, Paige (2013-08-08). Music in the Chautauqua Movement: From 1874 to the 1930s. McFarland. pp. 26–27. ISBN 978-0-7864-7315-1 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ a b c d "More Pupils at Fine Arts". Kansas City Journal. 1920-09-05. p. 25. Retrieved 2025-10-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b c d "Horner Institute of Fine Arts". The Kansas City Star. 1914-06-13. p. 11. Retrieved 2025-10-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ a b "The House of Horner". The Lyceum Magazine. 32 (9): 31. February 1923 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ a b c d e "Music School to K.C.U." The Kansas City Times. 1959-06-10. pp. 1, 10. Retrieved 2025-10-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ a b Musical America's Guide: A Digest of the Musical Resources of the United States and Canada. Musical America Company. 1927. p. 199 – via Google Books.
  11. ^ "Kansas CIty - Let's Finish the Job". The Kansas City Post. 1928-09-18. p. 20. Retrieved 2025-10-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Music". The Kansas City Post. 1922-09-24. p. 39. Retrieved 2025-10-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Pledges for the Zeta Chapter of Phi Mu Gamma at the Horner Conservatory and College, Kansas City". The Kansas City Star. 1932-02-07. p. 59. Retrieved 2025-10-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Anson, Jack L.; Marchenasi, Robert F., eds. (1991) [1879]. Baird's Manual of American Fraternities (20th ed.). Indianapolis, IN: Baird's Manual Foundation, Inc. p. V-27–29. ISBN 978-0963715906.
  15. ^ Shepardson, Francis Wayland, ed. Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities, 12th edition. Menasha, Wisconsin: The Collegiate Press/George Banta Publishing Company, 1930. p. 400. via Hathi Trust.
  16. ^ Conyers, James L. (2015-05-20). Black Lives: Essays in African American Biography. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-47578-1 – via Google Books.
  17. ^ a b Frankenstein, Alfred V.; Spaeth, Sigmund (1927). Who is who in Music: Biographical Reviews, Pictorial and Other Features of Interest to and Concerning Persons in the World of Music... Berghan Publishing Company – via Newspapers.com.
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