1. Flint Central Is the Bomb!
Flint Central Launches HS A Cappella Mvmt

2. Music Supervisors National Conf.
The Flint Central High School A Cappella
Choir, under the direction of Jacob A. Evanson,
sang two captivating programs at the Chicago
convention in 1928. These 76 singers sang
selections ranging from Palestrina to Purcell to
Bach to Borodin. Their musicality, purity of
tone and sincerity amazed the audience of
musicians.

3. How did Flint Central get this gig?
George Bowen, conference President, began
the choral program at Flint Central in 1918. His
goal was to saturate the program with choral
performances and to elevate the status of high
school choirs to equal or exceed that of
instrumental music. Also, W. W. Norton,
President of the central branch of MSNC hired
Evanson to direct the choir.

4. Who was Jacob Evanson?
He had a degree in sociology (not music ed.!!)
from the University of North Dakota. He was a
fine flute player and exhibited musical
leadership qualities. Through the influence of
colleagues at Flint Central, he taught his choral
students to emulate the sound of the St. Olaf
College Choir (Northfield, Minnesota).

5. The culture at Flint Central
The Flint Community Music Association
produced a musically vibrant city culture.
Because of this, the students at Flint Central
possessed a strong love for singing. They
committed to daily private practice, knowing
their individual musical parts, and putting the
interests of the group above the individual.

6. Elements of Evanson’s Pedagogy
● Vocal Pedagogy: straight tone, imitation of
instruments, free jaw, open throat and
energetic breath support
● Repertoire: Renaissance composers,
English madrigals, contemporary
composers, all a cappella
● Philosophy: performance is a tool to realize
educational goals.

7. Competition
● State contests were entered and won often.
● Evanson would only enter the choir in those
contests in which they did not place first in
the previous year.
● Again, only a cappella music was sung,
because it was thought to showcase the
human voice in the purest form.

8. Competition
● State contests were entered and won often.
● Evanson would only enter the choir in those
contests in which they did not place first in
the previous year.
● Again, only a cappella music was sung,
because it was thought to showcase the
human voice in the purest form.

9. The Lasting Impact of Flint Central
on American Music Education
Flint Central received letters of praise from
choral directors nationwide. These directors
also solicited advice on how they could
establish similar programs at their schools.
Top music educators also sent letters of praise-
-a few examples are Mabelle Glenn, Walter
Damrosch, Peter Dykema and Fritz Reiner.

10. Characteristics of a typical 1930’s
high school choir
● 50 to 100 singers
● the wearing of vestments
● daily rehearsals
● full academic credit received for participation
These were all copied from Flint Central, and
many high school choirs today still exhibit these
characteristics.