Oberlin's Women: A Legacy of Leadership & Activism

Inda Howland

Inda Howland (1907-1984) was a eurhythmics and music theory teacher. She learned to play piano as a child. As a young adult, she worked as a pianist for a local movie theater where played in accompaniment to the silent movies the theater showed. She later moved to New York City with her mother and studied under James Friskin at the Institute of Musical Art, which became the Juilliard School. To continue her training, Howland moved to Geneva, Switzerland to study under Emile Jaques-Dalcroze, who created the Dalcroze method of Eurhythmics. She entered L’Institute Jaques-Dalcroze in 1932 and graduated in 1934 with a certificate and a diploma. Howland was the first woman to graduate from the school. She began teaching at the Cummington School for the Arts in Cummington, Massachusetts from 1935 to 1936. In 1936 she also began teaching at a private school in Washington, D.C. Later that year she started working at Smith College as a music instructor. She held that position until 1940 when Howland became the instructor of eurhythmics and music theory at Oberlin College. She was granted tenure in 1947 and became an assistant professor in 1949. In 1956 she became an associate professor followed by a full professor in 1971. She retired in 1974. The Inda S. Howland Prize for Excellence in Teaching was established in her memory and is awarded every three years to an exceptional woman on the Oberlin College faculty.

Sources:
Staff File (Inda Howland), Alumni & Development Records, O.C.A.

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