Performances + Events
Carl McKinley
American composer, organist, teacher, Carl McKinley was born in Yarmouth, Maine in October 1895, the son of Rev. Charles E and Mrs. C. E. McKinley. His childhood was spent in Rockville, CT, where his father was the pastor of the Union Congregational Church.
The family moved to Galesburg, Ill., where Rev. McKinley became pastor of a Congregational church. McKinley earned his B. M. from the Knox Conservatory in Galesburg in 1915. Two years later, he received his A. B. degree from Harvard where he studied with Edward Burlingame Hill and Nadia Boulanger. While he was at Harvard, McKinley won the Francis Boott prize for a motet for mixed voices.
Carol McKinley’s History
In 1921, McKinley was awarded second place in the H. H. Flagler Prize competition for his orchestral tone poem, The Blue Flower. This prize catapulted his career in composition – the New York Philharmonic premiered The Blue Flower in January 1924. McKinley’s most popular work was Masquerade, an American rhapsody for orchestra, which was premiered by the Chicago Symphony in May 1926.
McKinley was also the recipient of two Guggenheim fellowships (1927-1929); he spent the year 1928-1929 working as a stage assistant for the Munich Opera. Returning to the United States in 1929, McKinley joined the faculty of New England Conservatory, where he taught organ, composition, and the history of music. McKinley remained on the faculty of NEC until the mid-1960s.
Carl McKinley held several other positions during his career. These include: organist for the Center Church in Hartford, CT; accompanist for the Hartford Choral Club; organist for the Strand Theater in Hartford; organist for the Capitol Theater in New York; and organist and choirmaster at Old South Church in Boston. McKinley died in July 1966.
Archival Collection
This collection consists of two manuscript boxes containing two scrapbooks, photocopies of the scrapbooks, two volumes, and three additional folders of materials.
Music manuscripts and published music by Carl McKinley can be found by doing an author search for ‘McKinley, Carl’ in our online catalog.
It is most likely that McKinley himself gave NEC this collection while he was on the faculty. The New Course in Harmony volumes appear to have been owned by Margaret Mason, another long time member of the NEC faculty.
Access to the Carl McKinley Papers is by appointment with the NEC Archivist. There are no restrictions pertaining to this collection.
All copyrights to this collection belong to the New England Conservatory. Permission to publish materials from this collection is granted by the Archivist. This collection should be cited as the: NECA 19.18. Carl McKinley Papers, New England Conservatory Archives, Boston, MA.
Box 1
Scrapbook 1 – This scrapbook spans the years 1915-1950. It covers Carl McKinley’s early career as an organist, accompanist and composer beginning with articles about McKinley’s performances at the Knox Conservatory in Illinois and in his hometown of Rockville, CT. These are followed by articles about McKinley during his tenure as organist at Center Church in Hartford, CT., accompanist for the Hartford Choral Club, and organist for the Strand Theater in Hartford. Also included are articles pertaining to McKinley’s second place prize in the Flagler Competition. The remainder of the scrapbook is weighed heavily towards McKinley’s career as a composer. Included are articles referencing McKinley’s compositions, The Blue Flower, Masquerade, and Seascapes, and his string quartet, in performances by the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony, the Detroit Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the New England Conservatory Orchestra, and the Boston String Quartet. Other topics covered in this scrapbook include the Guggenheim fellowship awarded to McKinley, as well as McKinley’s participation in the American Musical Festival at Bad Homburg and the Yaddo Music Festival.
Scrapbook 2 – This scrapbook covers the years 1930-1960. Primarily this contains articles about organ recitals given by McKinley, as well as performances at Old South Church, where McKinley was serving as organist and choirmaster. This scrapbook also contains many advertisements announcing various performances at Old South Church.
Box 1
Scrapbook 1
Scrapbook 2
Box 2
Typescripts of Parts II and IV of A New Course in Harmony by Carl McKinley and Warren Storey Smith
Folder 1– NEC Concert programs, 1948-1957
Folder 2 – Concert programs, other – four programs from the years 1919, 1947, 1951, and 1953
Folder 3– Newspaper articles pertaining to McKinley’s cantata, The Kid, which was premiered in 1955.
*Note: Music manuscripts and published music by Carl McKinley can be found by doing an author search for ‘McKinley, Carl’ in our online catalog.
