Biography

Born on October 10, 1853, in Massachusetts, Edward Dickinson went on to become a leading authority regarding music theory and history. He attended the New England Conservatory of Music (Boston) and also went overseas to Berlin. He became a “Bach Scholar” and spent several years lecturing at the University of Berlin. Moving back to the states, Dickinson taught music classes at Oberlin College Conservatory of Music. For lack of student textbooks, Dickinson wrote The Education of a Music Lover, Music and Higher Education, and The Spirit of Music. All three books continued to be used into the next century. When it comes to the source and progression of church music (and its culture), Dickinson’s work, Music in the History of the Western Church, has been the go-to source for information. At the age of 92, Dickinson died on January 25, 1946, and is buried in Westwood Cemetery in Oberlin, Ohio.

Wailand Groenendyk
CCEL Staff Writer