Libraries

Eben Tourjée

Biographical Sketch | Scope | Provenance | Access & Copyright | Container List

Physical description: One clamshell box containing ten file folders.

Biographical Sketch: (b Warwick, Rhode Island, 1 June 1834; d Boston, 12 April 1891). American music educator, choral conductor and organist. He studied academic subjects at East Greenwich Seminary and music at Providence. About 1854 Tourjée opened at Fall River, Massachusetts, a music school of about 500 students which was based on the conservatory or class system of instruction, perhaps the first of its type in the United States. In 1855 he moved to Newport, Rhode Island, where he was an organist and private music teacher.

In 1861 Tourjée became music director of the East Greenwich Seminary, and during 1863 he studied music for a short time in Germany. From 1867 Tourjée lived in Boston. In this year he and Robert Goldbeck established the New England Conservatory of Music, which remains one of the leading conservatories in the United States.

Tourjée helped to organize the mammoth choruses for the 1869 and 1872 peace jubilees in Boston. Through his initiative the first national conference of music teachers met at Boston in 1869, as the National Music Congress. When the Music Teachers National Association was organized in 1876 he served as its first president. An active Methodist and YMCA leader, he also led in church music development, compiling sacred music collections and encouraging congregational singing. Nason credited him with originating in 1851 the praise-meeting, a service combining scripture and song which Benson regarded as contributing to the prominence of gospel hymnody in American revivalism. Tourjée directed a choir of about 2000 singers during the 1877 Moody and Sankey revival in Boston.

On the establishment of Boston University in 1873 Tourjée became dean of its college of music. An honorary DMus had been conferred upon him by Wesleyan University in 1869.

—biographical information taken from New Grove online

Scope and Content Note: This collection is organized into the following series: 1) Correspondence 2) Memorial programs/tributes 3) European excursion materials 4) Journal articles/Book Excerpts 5) Newspaper clippings 6) Photographs/memorabilia.

Provenance: This collection was not originally a distinct collection. Because there is little information about Tourjée, but much interest, the NEC Library/Archives has assimilated these materials into one collection over the years. The published articles about Tourjée were assembled by NEC librarians. Newspaper articles have been photocopied for the purpose of preservation. A note on one of the envelopes used to store these materials suggests that there is a possibility that the original materials in this collection…correspondence, memorial programs, European tour pamphlets etc. might at one time have been from a scrapbook that has since fallen apart. Inventorying and cataloging of some materials in this collection was previously done by former NEC Director of Libraries, Geraldine Ostrove, and Patrick Maxfield, current Head of Technical Services.

There are some items for which we do know their specific origins. The piece of correspondence from Tourjée to Miss Mary Evans was mailed to the NEC archives by Ruth Kowalewski in January 2002. The letter had been donated to St Mark’s Episcopal Church Thrift Shop in Hallstead, PA. The thrift shop had closed and Ms. Kowalewski thought the letter might be of value to NEC.

Secondly, the excerpt from the 1881 European tour prospectus was donated to the NEC archives by Mrs. Louis C. Elson in 1925.

The ambrotype photograph of the Tourjée family was purchased by the Conservatory in July 1997 from antique photograph dealer, Greg French. The family record of Ebenezer Tourjée was acquired along with the ambrotype.

The listing and articles from the Boston Globe were printed by library staff in November 2006.

The materials from the Rhode Island Hall of Fame ceremony were given to the Archives by Don Jones from NEC's Office of Institutional Advancement in January 2007.

Access: Access to the Tourjée collection is granted by the Archivist/Records Manager or the Director of Libraries. Appointments must be scheduled in advance. There are no access restrictions on this collection.

Copyright: All copyrights to this collection belong to the New England Conservatory. Permission to publish materials from this collection is granted by the Director of Libraries. This collection should be cited as:
RG 1.1: Records of Eben Tourjee, Director, 1867-1890, New England Conservatory Archives, Boston, MA.

Container List:

Series 1: Correspondence – Folder 1

Letter. [Undated] Eben Tourjée to Emma J. Webber. Invitation to his home. [Auburndale?]
Letter. February 15, 1870, Eben Tourjée, Boston, to Miss Hawes, Oliver Ditson and Co., re: Concert at the Mission
Letter. February 6, 1873, Eben Tourjée, Boston, to Ella A. Mulliken, Rumney, NH. Re: teaching position
Letter. June 27, 1879, Eben Tourjée, Boston, to Jennie Congdon, Conwayboro, SC. Tourjee compliments her work as his pupil. Postmarked “Auburndale, MA”.
Letter. February 5, 1889, Eben Tourjée to Dean Huntington, Boston University. Student recommendation
Letter. October 16, 188?, Eben Tourjée to Miss Mary Evans, Mechanicsburg, Ohio, a prospective student, about advantages of enrolling at NEC. Accompanied by gift letter

Series 2: Memorial programs/tributes – Folder 2

Program. [April 14?, 1891]. In Memoriam Eben Tourjée. Funeral services. Addresses by Rev. W. A. Brodbeck and Rev. W. R. Clark
Program. April 12, 1892. NEC concert held in Sleeper Hall in memory of Dr. Eben Tourjée
Program. June 1, 1892. Anniversary Exercises in honor of the birthday of Dr. Eben Tourjée. Alumni Association of NEC and BU College of Music
A Hymn of Homage by Louis C. Elson. Song text performed at the unveiling of the bust of Dr. Eben Tourjée on June 26, 1885 at NEC. See also photographs/memorabilia folder
Dennée (Charles) on Tourjée. Centennial of Tourjée’s birth? [1934?] (2 copies)

Series 3: European Excursion Materials – Folder 3

Circular. Reunion, tourists of 1878, 1879, and 1880.[1881?](2 copies).
Newsletter. The Tourjée Tourist. v. 2 no.1, April 1881. Boston, MA
Pamphlet, "Prospectus for tour of Europe in 1881", Printed 1880? p.13-26
Prospectus. "Tourjée’s Educational Excursions to Europe" [for 1884, printed 1883?]
"Song of the Tourists" by A. Tourist (probably Tourjée). Boston: New England Conservatory Music Store, c1884.

Series 4: Journal articles/Book Excerpts – Folders 4-5

Folder 4: Articles about Tourjée (NEC publications)

New England Conservatory Review. v. 3/2, June 1913. This issue contains “A Life Sketch of Eben Tourjée” by Elizabeth Samuel, based on notes from Eben Tourjée’s daughters, Clara Tourjée-Nelson (NEC Class of 1884) and Lizzie Tourjée-Estabrook(NEC Class of 1876)
New England Conservatory Bulletin. v.16/3, April 1934, p. 6-7. Tourjée Centenary announcement
New England Conservatory Bulletin. v.16/5, June 1934. p.1-2. Tourjée Centennial observance
New England Conservatory Bulletin. v.16/6, July 1934. p. 5-8. Tourjée Centennial Observance
New England Conservatory Bulletin. v. 16/7, August 1934. re: the Tourjée Celebration)
New England Conservatory Bulletin, v. 19/2, April 1942. 75th Anniversary of the founding of NEC

Folder 5: Journal articles/Book Excerpts (other)

“Edward Ball and Some of his Descendants”. Compiled by Nicholas Ball (Nicholas was the brother of Eben Tourjée’s mother, Angeline). Newport, RI: Mercury Print, 1891.
"The American Evangelists Dwight L. Moody and Ira D. Sankey with an account of their work in England and America and a sketch of the lives of P. P. Bliss and Dr. Eben Tourjée" by Rev. Elias Nason. Boston: D. Lothrop & Co. Publishers, 1877.
"God's Apostle of Music: Dr. Eben Tourjée, Musical Pioneer" by Leo Eben Tourjee. The Etude. April 1947. pp. 187, 194.
Excerpt from History of Fall River, with notices of Freetown and Tiverton as published in 1841 by Rev. Orin Fowler, A. M....Fall River, MA: Almy & Milne Printers, 1862. p. 94-95.
Excerpt from The Fall River Directory by George Adams. Fall River, MA: Robert Adams, 1855. pp 134-135, 146-147.
Harper’s New Monthly Magazine. No. CCCV, October 1875. Vol. LI, pp. 743-744.

Series 5: Newspaper Clippings – Folders 6-7

Folder 6:

A series of articles about Tourjée that appeared in the Lowell Courier-Citizen from May 21, 1934 – June 20, 1934. There are duplicate copies.
Excerpt from The Keynote, v. 1 no. 5, April 1855. Fall River, MA. (published about the 10th of every month by Eben Tourjee)

Folder 7:

Obituaries, biographical articles
Articles from Boston Globe online archive

Series 6: Photographs/memorabilia

Folder 8:

Ambrotype photograph of the Tourjée siblings, c.1854. [From left to right: Mary, Celinda, Eben (at age 20), Jeremiah Hayden, and Charity]. Reproduction with accompanying materials kept with collection. Original kept in secure location.
Family record of Ebenezer Tourjée (a listing of members of the Tourjée family with birth and death dates)

Folder 9:

Two teaching receipts
Two small photo clippings of Tourjée
Two photos of the Tourjée bust – one 8 x10, the other approx 8 ½ x 11
Photograph of a National Peace Jubilee Chorus ticket (June 1869) and a Chorus membership certificate
National Musical Congress, Brochure, Boston, 1869

Folder 10

Rhode Island Hall of Fame materials including certificate, description from NEC Update, newspaper article, photograph and paperweight/plaque

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