Eugene E. Davis: Musician, Music Educator, and Entrepreneur

Abstract

The educational and musical histories of Europe and the United States have had a long and common thread. For more 150 years American musicians and music educators looked to their European counterparts for inspiration and incorporated European trends into their own teaching, composition, and performance. Although the climate for a unique American musical identity began to develop as early as the 1820s, with the dissemination of Pestalozzian principles and the advent of teacher education programs, it was not until the early 1890s that music and music education in North America began to diverge from European models. This state of affairs remained part of the fabric of lives of musicians and music educators in the United States for more than a century, and is evident in the life of Eugene E. Davis (1858-1932). This profile of Eugene E. Davis explores the day-to-day life of an ordinary American earning a living as a musician and music educator at the turn of the nineteenth century. Beginning in 1878, Davis's career spanned more than fifty years. His life story is probably no more unique than that of many individuals involved in music at that time, but for that reason it can be all the more revealing. This article provides a brief overview of Davis's early education, explores his employment as a music educator in the United States, his studies in Vienna, and the founding of his own music school in Los Angeles, California. Although several accounts have been written to explore the lives of prominent musicians, singers, and music educators, the author intends this study to shed light on the hard-scrabble, close-to-the-edge existence of a self-promoter intent on making his mark in the cultural world. Early Years Eugene Emmanuel Davis received an education typical of many young people brought up in the Midwest during the nineteenth century. Born in 1858 to an upper-middle class family in a rural part of central Ohio, he was educated in the public schools of Middletown, Ohio. (1) His mother, Catherine Gast, had received what would have been considered a good education for a woman of that era. She could read and write, skills not common for women of the early to middle nineteenth century. Due to her father's practice of recording large tracts of land in his children's names, she also was a significant landholder. After her marriage in 1845 to Josiah Thatcher Davis, an immigrant of Welsh descent, county records and land surveys indicate that she retained a significant portion of the village and farmlands. (2) Her assets and stature as a founding member in the community not only made her a wealthy woman but probably also provided increased opportunities for her children. Eugene was baptized in the Lutheran church and participated in its musical activities throughout his younger years. Eugene and his older brother Albert were nine years apart, and both began taking piano lessons from family members at an early age. (3) Albert later became the organist at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, worked as a music teacher, and lived at home for many years to care for his mother after their father's death. Davis the Music Educator Anecdotal evidence from personal letters and diaries does not reveal the content or extent of Davis's education and training as either a musician or music educator. Although he may have studied at any of a number of music schools in and around the central Ohio area, no enrollment or attendance records have been located. However, it is evident that he had sufficient experience and education to support his employment teaching and conducting a variety of music courses and ensembles. Northwestern Ohio Normal and Music School Davis's first documented teaching appointment was as musical director of the Northwestern Ohio Normal and Music School located in Ada, Ohio. (4) At the age of twenty, he became the fourth director of the school, serving for one year from 1878 to 1879. …