Music Programs 1950-1974
In 1956, the Nevada State Legislature consolidated schools by county in Nevada. In Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas area schools, most secondary schools had an active instrumental and choral music program. In the elementary schools, students could participate in beginning band programs at the fourth and fifth grade levels taught by an itinerant band teacher who was responsible for four or five schools. Any “music” that was taught otherwise fell to the classroom teacher, with some rare exceptions.
Among the early leaders in bringing music to all children were the following:
Miriam Burkholder was a teacher in the old Henderson School District from 1954 until the merger of independent districts in 1956. She then taught in the Clark County School District until her retirement from Gordon McCaw Elementary – originally Basic Elementary – in 1973. Miriam’s husband, for whom Burkholder Middle School is named, was Henderson School District Superintendent from 1949 until the 1956 merger. Las Vegas Sun Newspaper Archive March 20, 2002 in a feature on her death
Cecil Bickhart was hired in 1950 by the Las Vegas Union School District as a music and band teacher at John S. Park Elementary School. In 1954, he was appointed music supervisor for the school district, and in 1963 he was made music coordinator for the district. With the 1964 school district reorganization, he became a music specialist. He performed with relief bands of many of the top strip headliners and received many awards from the school district and the community for his band and chorus work.
He was also a co-founder of the Young Audience Las Vegas Chapter and served as its first chapter president. Mr. Bickhart implemented the music festivals for the Clark County bands and choruses by affiliating with the California Adjudicating Association. Mr. Bickhart supervised 23 music teachers who specialized in chorus, band, and strings as listed in the 1958 Music Directory. This list gives an overview of the teaching content in the valley at the time:
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8 music teachers in the high schools full-time
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3 music teachers only in the middle schools
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3 elementary schools had full-time chorus teachers in Boulder City and Henderson
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4 elementary schools had full-time band or band/choral teachers
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5 part-time band instructors served 20 Las Vegas elementary schools
Sue Higgason Morrow joined the school district for the 1956-57 school year. She taught in both the Park Village and Townsite Elementary Schools in Henderson and worked with Miriam Burkholder in a multitude of musical events. Joint programs were given by Henderson elementary schools both at the December holidays and during May Industrial Days events. In addition to shared choirs, the programs featured elementary band students led by Dick Geuder. Classroom teachers collaborated with the music specialists. Later, Sue Morrow also taught at Gene Ward Elementary and Lewis E. Rowe Elementary. In 1978, she was selected as the Curriculum Specialist for Fine Arts.
Sue was a graduate of Vanderbilt and proud of her Tennessee heritage of family folk song collections. Some of her family’s songs are in the Smithsonian Institution Archives in Washington, D.C. Sue retired in 1990, and she passed away in 1995. The Sue H. Morrow Elementary School in Henderson is named in her honor.
Dick Geuder went to work teaching beginning band at two Henderson schools in 1957. When the sixth grade centers opened, Dick continued teaching 6th grade band at Chester Sewell and Whitney Elementary Schools. Later, he also worked at Nate Mack and Estes McDoniel Elementary Schools. Dick was a member of the task force to obtain a Title IV Federal Grant to fund the new elementary music program and Orff instruments. Other members were Fred Steinbaugh, Sue Morrow, Raymond Barnes, Eldine Stevens, and Jan Morgan. Since his retirement in 1988, Dick has remained active in music performance.
Eldine Stevens and Raymond Barnes were early pioneers in the adoption process of the Orff philosophy and teaching strategies. Their enthusiasm was contagious. Both served on many committees to create the classroom structure for all K-5 music teachers.
Stevens and Barnes continued to be involved with the music community after retirement. Raymond was a respected organist and bell choir director in Las Vegas and Eldine continued on committees and provided guidance to new teachers. Both were passionate about teaching music under the Orff banner.
“Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent.” -Victor Hugo