Publisher

Digital exhibition

On the Banks of the Raritan: Music at Rutgers and New Brunswick

On the Banks of the Raritan: Music at Rutgers and New Brunswick

curator

Fernanda Perrone

Curator (New Brunswick section)

Flora Boros

Curator (Rutgers section)

Kathy Fleming

Exhibition case

Is part of

Case 2: Rutgers College, Part 1

“The ‘Rutgers Musical Clubs’ was definitely the glamour organization of the campus. Each Christmas hiatus they made a personal-appearance tour that was invariably sold out in advance and which was climaxed by a final concert at one of New York’s leading hotels.”
Ozzie Nelson

When Queens College was chartered on November 10, 1766, its mission was to train young men for the ministry in the Dutch Reformed Church. Due to a lack of funding, a depressed economy, and the War of 1812, the college closed in 1795 and again in 1812. In 1825, Queens College reopened for good and was renamed Rutgers College in honor of trustee Colonel Henry Rutgers. In subsequent years, new degree programs in liberal arts, the sciences, mechanical arts, and agriculture were instituted to prepare students to live and work in a nation changed by the Industrial Revolution.

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.

Howard Decker McKinney and the Rutgers College Music Department

Howard Decker McKinney graduated from Rutgers College in 1913. In 1916, he was hired as the music director of Rutgers College and worked to improve the quality of music at college events and chapel services. Over the years, McKinney also directed the Rutgers Musical Clubs, Glee Club, and Choir; advised the Music Club, founded the University Concert Series, and worked with several music groups at New Jersey College for Women. As a tribute to his many contributions, the Music Activities Building, which housed rehearsal halls for the Rutgers University Glee Club, Band, and University Choir; was renamed McKinney Hall around 1960.

The Rutgers College Music Department was formally introduced in 1919. Classes, exams, and student performances were held in the Music House which, by 1950, was located at 19 Bishop Place. McKinney served as the department’s first director and was succeeded by Alfred Mann in the 1950s. Henry W. Kaufmann, a Rutgers College professor, Episcopal priest, organist, and choir director ran the department from 1964 to 1973. Lastly, Martin Picker chaired the department until 1981 when the music departments of Rutgers University folded into Mason Gross School of the Arts.

On the Banks of the Old Raritan

In March of 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.”



“The Bells Must Ring”

The Rutgers Fight Song, “The Bells Must Ring,” was written in 1931 as an entry in a student song contest. W.W. Sanford composed the song with classmate and pianist Richard M. Hadden. The lyrics were inspired by the bell in the cupola of Old Queens that rang to signal the change of classes. In 2013, the bell rings for convocation and other university occasions.

University Concert Series

In 1917, Howard D. McKinney organized the University Concert Series, which became a yearly tradition. The concert series brought prominent musicians, orchestras, and choral ensembles to New Brunswick to entertain and culturally engage the students at Rutgers and later, New Jersey College for Women. Groups who participated in the concert series include the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera singers, and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. In some cases, the performers were accompanied by the Rutgers Glee Club and NJC musical clubs.

Exhibition caption

Is part of

Songs of Rutgers, compiled and edited by Frank S. Scudder in 1885 and Howard D. McKinney in 1938, published by J. Fischer & Brother, NY, 1938

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