Type: Exhibition case

Name: Rutgers College

Detail: Long before the founding of Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University’s liberal arts colleges developed their own music departments and traditions. Although each school has a unique history―Rutgers College was founded to train ministers for the Dutch Reformed Church, New Jersey College for Women (later Douglass College) was established to provide higher education for women, and Livingston College formed in response to the sociopolitical changes of the 1960s―a shared passion of music united these various student bodies. The next seven “cases” focus on students and professors who participated in music at Rutgers from 1871, when the Rutgers College Chapel Choir formed, to 1981, when the music programs at Rutgers, Douglass, and Livingston College transferred to Mason Gross School of the Arts. Ultimately, these cases explore the history and tradition of music at Rutgers University and examines how music constructed a shared identity among the colleges.

The music department at Rutgers College was established in 1919 and headed by Howard D. McKinney. Classes were offered in instrumental and vocal studies as well as music theory, history, and appreciation. Additionally, a number of music clubs provided students with the opportunity to practice, hone, and enjoy their crafts with peers. These groups performed on campus, throughout New Jersey and the United States, and often collaborated with New Jersey College for Women music groups.

Type: Exhibition caption

Detail: In March 1873, the Rutgers University Glee Club gave its first performance. On the day of the concert, Glee Club founder Edwin E. Colburn asked his friend Howard N. Fuller to write a song for the performance that would inspire students and alumni. In two hours, Fuller wrote “On the Banks of the Old Raritan” to the tune of “On the Banks of the Old Dundee.” The song became so popular after its first performance that it became tradition to sing it at football games. Eventually, it became the Rutgers College alma mater. In 1989, several years after Rutgers became coeducational, the university’s administration changed the lyrics to “On the Banks…” to acknowledge the presence of women. As a result the phrase “my boys” in the first line of the chorus became "my friends." In 2013, the lyrics were changed once again for the same reason. The first verse now reads "From far and near we came to Rutgers / And resolved to learn all that we can" instead of "My father sent me to old Rutgers / And resolv'd that I should be a man." Other traditional Rutgers songs include “The Bells Must Ring,” “Colonel Rutgers,” “In a Quaint Old Jersey Town,” “Nobody Ever Died for Dear Old Rutgers,” “The Rutgers History Lesson,” and “A Hymn to Queens.”