A history of music in the Edmonton (Alberta) Public School System, 1882--1949

The purpose of this study was to document the history of music education in the Edmonton Public School System (EPSS) from its establishment in 1882 until 1949. The study covered the most influential antecedents of this history (the histories of music in Canada, general education in Quebec and Ontario, and music education in Ontario), and investigated the following related topics: (1) an historical overview of church, community, and school music in Edmonton from 1880--1901; (2) Northwest Territories and Alberta Department of Education normal and summer school music instruction and directions in music education; and (3) relevant events in the history of the EPSS and the city of Edmonton. The five main historical topics were as follows: (1) EPSS music education before the appointment of the first music supervisor (1882--1909); (2) EPSS music education from the music supervisors' perspectives (1909--49); (3) music curriculum in the EPSS; (4) high school music programs; and (5) EPSS system-wide projects in music education: Piano Class Teachers' Association, EPSS participation in the Alberta Musical Festival and EPSS Festival, string teaching and the Edmonton Public Schools Orchestra, the Edmonton Schoolboys' Band, and school radio broadcasts.;Two of the main figures in the history were James Norman Eagleson, who was employed as music supervisor from 1912--49 and regarded as one of Canada's leading music educators, and Thomas Vernon Newlove, who founded the Edmonton Schoolboys' Band in 1935. This band was considered one of the best and largest of its kind in Canada until the early 1950s.;Only a relatively small number of historical research projects have been undertaken on music education in Canada. This study is one of the first to document the history of music education in a Western Canadian school system.