Allen Britton
Allen Perdue Britton (May 25, 1914 – February 17, 2003) was an American music educator. Through his many passions in life he contributed to elevating the field of music education to the same stature as the field of musicology. He developed the doctoral program in music education at the University of Michigan, where he directed 51 dissertations. He contributed heavily to the history of music pedagogy in early America, especially singing schools. To combine his two interests of music education and history he joined with Marguerite V. Hood, Warren S. Freeman, and Theodore F. Normann and created the Journal of Research in Music Education (JRME). Less than a decade after developing the journal for Music Educators National Conference (MENC), he became its president from 1960 to 1962. It was during this time that Russia had launched Sputnik and the United States tried to counteract that advancement by going "Back to the Basics." This meant that there was little monetary support for music. As the president of the Music Educators National Conference, he took it upon himself to harness the full potential of this organization's political power. MENC, now the National Association for Music Education, has since exercised its influence over numerous political and social actions. Early life
Britton was born on May 25, 1914, in Elgin, Kane County, Illinois. He was the oldest son of Walter Allen and Mary (Perdue) Britton. The family lived on a farm just west of Elgin for Allen's first six years, then moved into Elgin. Allen married his high school sweetheart Veronica Fern Wallace on August 30, 1938, in Elgin, Illinois. Education
Britton obtained his high school diploma from Elgin High School, Illinois in 1932. He then attended the University of Illinois, from which he graduated with a BSc in Instrumental Music in 1937, and a MA in English and Education in 1939. In 1949, he completed his PhD in Musicology at the University of Michigan, his thesis titled Theoretical Introductions in American Tune-Books to 1800. Work experience
Britton taught band and English in the public schools of Griffith, Indiana and also at Eastern Illinois University. He served in the US Army during the Second World War as a military policeman and a band member. Britton had learned German from his German-born grandmother. Britton served as assistant professor of music at the University of Michigan from 1950, full professor in 1959, assistant dean in 1960, and as dean of the School of Music from 1971 to 1979. He was also a trustee of the National Music Camp at Interlochen. Publications

Britton was founding editor of Journal of Research in Music Education (JRME), at which he worked from 1953 to 1972. He was also the editor of the textbook series Foundations of Music Education and the founding editor of American Music. Britton wrote American Sacred Music Imprints, 1698-1810: A Bibliography with Irving Lowens, American Music Education: Is It Better Than We Think? A Discussion of the Roles of Performance and Repertory, Together With Brief Mention of Certain Other Problems (which was published in Basic Concepts in Music Education), Research in Music Education, with Particular Reference to the Historic and Scientific (which appeared in Music in American Schools 1838-1988 from the University of Maryland). Personal papers written by Britton are part of the University of Maryland's Special Collections in Performing Arts. Honors and merits

 Inducted into the Music Educators National Conference (MENC) hall of fame 1986
 Invited to be the closing speaker at the University of Maryland’s celebration of the sesquicentennial of Music in American Public Education Sponsored by MENC-1988
 The Michigan Music Educators Association Award of Merit
 University of Michigan Citation of Merit
 University of Illinois School of Music Alumni Association Distinguished Service Award
 MENC’s History Special Research Interest Group Distinguished Service award (1996)
 For American Sacred Imprints, 1698-1810: A Bibliography, was given the Vincent H. Duckles award for the best book-length bibliography or other research tool in music

Articles written by Britton

 Music Education in the Nineteen-Sixties. MUS ED J 47:23-6 n6 1961
 Thank You, Mr. President. MUS ED J Nov-December 1961, 33-36
 Music Education: an American Specialty. MUS ED J 48:27-9+ n6 1962
 The 1962 MENC Program. Port MUS ED J 48:45-8+ n4 1962
 The Development of Courses, Resources, and Activities for Performing Students. MUS ED J 45:42-4 n4 1964
 The General Theoretical Foundations of Music Education. MUS ED J 50:44-5 n5 1964
 Research in the United States. J RES MUS ED 17:108-11 n1 1969
 The Changing Scene. MUS ED J 56:109 May 1970
 La Educación Musical en los Estados Unidos de America. HETEROFONIA 7:13-17 n39 1974
 Keokuk to San Antonio: 75 Years of Change. MUS ED J 68:42-4 February 1982
 Founding JRME: A Personal View. J RES MUS ED 32:223-42 n4 1984
 Keynote Address, Sonneck-Society Liberty Supper Queensborough Community College 29 May 1976  SONNECK S 5:17-19 n3 1979
 The Sonneck Society and American Music. Port CHORAL J 28:28-9 n3 1987
 Research in Music Education, with particular Reference to the Historic and Scientific The How and Why of Teaching Singing Schools in Eighteenth Century America. CRME n99:23-41 Winter 1989
 MENC: Remembrances and Perspectives. QUARTERLY J OF MUS TEACHING 5:6-15 n2 1994
 In Celebration of 100 Years: The School of Music, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: Reminiscences: Musical and other delights at Illinois, 1933-1938. CRME n125:9-19 Summer 1995
 Introduction to Twentieth-Century Brass Soloists: Bio-Critical Source Books on Musical Performance by Meckna, M.  SONNECK S 21:29 n3 1995

External links 

 Allen Perdue Britton Papers at the University of Maryland Library

1914 births
2003 deaths
University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance alumni
University of Michigan faculty
American music educators
People from Elgin, Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign School of Music alumni
People from Griffith, Indiana