Michael Head: His contributions as composer, performer, educator with an analysis of selected solo songs.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the life and work of Michael Head and to document his contributions to music education. During the course of the study, answers were sought to the following questions: (1) What were the early life experiences and musical training that prepared Michael Head for his career as composer, performer and music educator? (2) What were Head's contributions to music education/vocal pedagogy? How do his contributions reflect or articulate Head's philosophy of music education/vocal pedagogy? (3) How was Head's philosophy of music education/vocal pedagogy reflected in his compositions? Information was obtained from a variety of published and unpublished sources.

Entries in reference works list the Englishman Michael Dewar Head (1900--1976) first as a composer. However, his involvement in and contributions to music went beyond his considerable achievements as a composer. He was active as a singer, pianist and accompanist throughout his life, and also a professor of piano at the Royal Academy of Music in London from 1927--1975. Unfortunately, his efforts on behalf of music education receive scant attention in the literature. Michael Head was indefatigable as an adjudicator for competition music festivals throughout the British Isles, and as an examiner for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. In this capacity he had the opportunity to encourage and influence countless amateur music makers. His contact with these amateur musicians was direct, in his written and verbal comments regarding their performances, and indirect, in the many compositions he wrote specifically for amateur performers.

Michael Head was an impassioned proponent of the art called MUSIC. By his own admission he loved to sing and his performances reflected his desire to share his love for the art of music thus encouraging others to participate in music making. During his lifetime he enjoyed considerable renown as a composer and achieved some fame as a performer. These two aspects of his work, composing and performing, informed his teaching. Because of his contributions to music, and particularly, to music education, Michael Head's life and work provide an exemplary model for music educators to study and emulate.