150 Years of the Study of Music at Centenary College of Louisiana: a Timeline

1825-1861: Music at Antebellum Centenary
1825 College of Louisiana founded.
1839 Centenary College founded.
1845 Centenary College of Louisiana formed.
July 30, 1850 Board of Trustees encourages formation of a band.
July 26, 1852 First music professor appointed.

1861-1865: War!
1861-1865 College closed due to Civil War.
1865-1907: Centenary struggles for survival
1895-96 College offers a “Course of Instruction in Vocal Music.”
1907 Jackson campus closes.

1908-1923: The Early Years in Shreveport
1908 Centenary reopens in Shreveport.
1909-10 Optional music courses for the “young ladies.”
1910-11 Music offerings open to “young men.” Glee Club established.
1920-21 College boasts a brass band and orchestra .
1924-1931: The Music Department “taken up in earnest”
1920s Old music building constructed on the south corner of campus.
1923 Mrs. Catherine McComb, first Director of Music,organizes choral groups and offers private instruction.

1931-1964: First Music Graduates, Accreditation, and Expansion
1931 First Bachelor of Music degrees awarded.
1933-c.1947 Centenary variety show Kollege Kapers delights audiences.
1936 Centenary School of Music granted NASM membership.
1936 Bachelor of Arts in music requirements first printed in a catalogue.
1941 Centenary Choir established.
1950 First Wideman Piano Competition.
1961 Centenary Choir performs at Radio City Music Hall four times a day for nine weeks in 1961.

1964-2000: The Hurley School of Music Develops
1964 Hurley Memorial Music Building, gift of Mrs. Gladys Hurley, dedicated.
1973 Friends of Music Series launched.
1975 Board of Trustees renames the School of Music the Gladys F. Hurley School of Music.
1976 Jazz band listed as a separate course in 1976-77 catalogue.
1977 Hurley Chamber Orchestra listed as a separate course in 1977-79 catalogue.
1983 Camerata begins.
1990 Hurley Music Library dedicated.

2000-2002: Music in the New Millennium
2000 Fiftieth anniversary festivities for the Wideman Piano Competition.
2001 Groundbreaking for the Arts Complex.
2001 Centenary Choir celebrates their sixtieth anniversary.
2001 The Centenary Choir’s fifth consecutive White House Christmas performance.
2002: Music’s 150th anniversary at Centenary
2002 Dedication of Phase 1A of the Arts Complex: Anderson Choral Building, Feazel Instrumental Hall and renovated Anderson Auditorium
2002 Camerata Singers perform by invitation at Music Educators National Conference (MENC) and Spivey Hall

- 30 -