Lowell Mason

Biography

Lowell Mason is termed "the father of music in America" for having agitated until music became part of the public school curriculum. He is also remembered as the composer of well-known hymn tunes, including "Nearer, My God, to Thee," "My Faith Looks Up to Thee," and "From Greenland's Icy Mountains." He became the founder of the Mason family, whose sons, Henry Mason and Dr. William Mason, owed much of their success to the ambition he instilled in them. From Spillane (1890): Dr. Lowell Mason is described by Spillane as 'the celebrated American composer.' An Alpheus Babcock piano built in Boston and used by Mason in his early years was later in the possession of the firm Mason & Hamlin. No further biographical information is given in this text.

Highlights

• Called "the father of music in America" for establishing music instruction in the public school curriculum
• Composer of hymn tunes including "Nearer, My God, to Thee," "My Faith Looks Up to Thee," and "From Greenland's Icy Mountains"
• Father of Henry Mason and Dr. William Mason, founder of the Mason musical family
• Celebrated American composer who used an Alpheus Babcock Boston-made piano in his early years

Sources

Alfred Dolge, Pianos and Their Makers, Vol. II (1913), p. 153.

Daniel Spillane, History of the American Pianoforte (1890), p. 85.

Public domain.