Overview

Born in Franklin, Ohio

Franklin, Ohio

Not to be confused with Franklin County, Ohio.Franklin is a city in Warren County, Ohio, United States. The population was 11,771 at the 2010 census.-History:...

, Earhart studied violin, piano, counterpoint and harmony. He began teaching in Miamisburg, Ohio

Miamisburg, Ohio

Miamisburg is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States. The population was 20,181 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area...

 and later became music supervisor in the public schools of Greenville, Ohio

Greenville, Ohio

Greenville is a city in Darke County, Ohio, United States. The population was 13,227 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Darke County.-History:Greenville is the historic location of Fort Greene Ville,Greenville is a city in Darke County, Ohio, United States. The population was 13,227 at...

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In 1898, he moved to Richmond, Indiana

Richmond, Indiana

Richmond is a city largely within Wayne Township, Wayne County, in east central Indiana, United States, which borders Ohio. The city also includes the Richmond Municipal Airport, which is in Boston Township and separated from the rest of the city...

 to become Director of the Richmond High School

Richmond High School (Richmond, Indiana)

Richmond High School is a public high school in Richmond, Indiana, located at 380 Hub Etchison Parkway. It is the home of the Richmond Red Devils, who are members of the North Central Conference of the Indiana High School Athletic Association . The current enrollment of the school is around 1,700...

 Orchestra, believed to be the first complete high school symphony orchestra. He helped to found The Richmond Civic Orchestra, a forerunner of the Richmond Symphony Orchestra

Richmond Symphony Orchestra

The Richmond Symphony is based in Richmond, Virginia. One of the nation's leading regional orchestras, it employs 72-85 musicians who give over 100 performances each season to over 125,000 audience members. Its music director is Steven Smith; its associate conductor is Dr. Erin Freeman...

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In 1912, Earhart became Director of Music in the Pittsburgh Public Schools, where he remained until his retirement in 1940. In 1913, he founded the Department of Public School Music at the University of Pittsburgh

University of Pittsburgh

The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...

.

He was a member of the Music Educators National Conference for nearly half a century and was its president in 1915. He is a member of the Music Educators Hall of Fame. He was also a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia

Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia

Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia is an American collegiate social fraternity for men with a special interest in music...

 Fraternity of America, initiated as an honorary member in 1923 by the Iota Chapter at Northwestern University

Northwestern University

Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....

.

He died in Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

in 1960, aged 89.

Philosophy

Earhart believed strongly in the value of musical beauty. He advocated teaching music with an emphasis on creating pleasing sounds, deriding the "machine-like chug-chug-chug-chug" that he heard from amplified bass instruments in 1950s rock and roll. At the forefront of the aesthetic education movement in the 1940s, Earhart outlined the three appeals of music as sensory, mind, and feelings, and believed that all children had the ability to be musical if properly nurtured. According to Earhart, music in the schools was fully justified on aesthetic, intellectual and educational, and social grounds. He believed music should be studied by all children, not just who might choose it as a profession, so they might enjoy it for the rest of their lives. He encouraged all people to avoid placing too much emphasis on material objects at the expense of those things of significant beauty that required time and effort to appreciate.

Educational Innovations

Earhart was a pioneer in the expansion of the high school music program and the granting of credits to students enrolled in the classes. At the turn of the century, he developed a harmony course at Richmond High School and a course called "A Critical Study of Music." Through the study of sixteen composers from Bach to Wagner, Earhart emphasized the importance of context, form, and style. Since there were no recordings available, choruses formed the core materials, and Earhart made sure to have the best editions possible. In this early model for comprehensive musicianship, students sang and played the music, wrote essays, and took exams, receiving one half credit for each semester of work. In 1898 Earhart formed a school orchestra at Richmond, and although it usually met outside of school hours, these students also received a half credit each semester if they were deemed capable of public performance according to the high standards Earhart maintained for the group. The orchestra performed at many school events such as chapel services, commencements, and assemblies. Instrument gaps were filled with community members, alumni, and hired professionals when needed, but Earhart believed it was better to play good symphonic literature with thin instrumentation than to compromise the quality of the music. During this time Earhart also formed an adult chorus and the Richmond Civic Orchestra, and he organized annual festivals in which the school and community orchestras and choirs could perform together. Under the direction of Earhart, music education in the small town of Richmond, Indiana became so well known that music teachers made journeys to observe the programs, returning to implement the ideas in their own towns.

Role in the MSNC

Earhart was a visionary leader in the Music Supervisors National Conference (MSNC), ably articulating the philosophical foundations of the organization. He was active in MSNC for almost fifty years and was a founding member, although he missed the first meeting in Keokuk because of Easter church responsibilities. Despite doubts that it could be accomplished, Earhart organized and led an orchestra made up of conference members at the 1921 MSNC meeting, including Edward Bailey Birge on viola and Osbourne McConathy on French horn. He continued to serve his profession until the end of his life, helping young teachers who sought his advice and writing articles for the Music Supervisors Journal supporting aesthetic education.