Title: Robert P. Fountain Papers, 1900-1996, n.d.

ID: RG 30/368

Extent: 7.0 Linear Feet

Robert P. Fountain was a world-renowned choral conductor and a beloved teacher of singing. Born in Niagara Falls, N.Y., on December 26, 1917, he was the only child of Robert H. Fountain (1878-1937), a singing teacher and Choral Director, and Bessie M. Pratt Fountain (1870-?), an organist and later Choir Director at the Delaware Avenue Baptist Church (Buffalo, NY). He began singing lessons at age eight. By age sixteen, he was recognized as a gifted young baritone by the local music reviewers. After gaining attention for winning a high school singing competition, he said that he enjoyed music but did not believe that it would become his career.

Educated in the public schools of Buffalo, N.Y., he performed as a soloist in local and regional productions. During this time he also served as a substitute conductor for his father with the Prospect Avenue Baptist Church Choir in Buffalo. His father’s death in 1937, led a young Bob to assume the leadership of the fifty-member choir. He also commuted to the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. to continue his musical education where he was a “superior student.” There he earned his Bachelor of Music in Voice degree in 1941 and his Master of Music in Vocal Literature degree and Performer’s Certificate in 1942.

After graduating from the Eastman School of Music he served on the faculties of Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio (1942-1946) and the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio (1946-1948). Subsequently, he joined the Oberlin Conservatory as an Assistant Professor of Singing (1948-1954) where he would make his mark. Spanning 22 years, he served Oberlin College as Professor of Singing and Director of Choral Organizations (1958-1965), Dean of the Conservatory (1965-1970) and Professor of Choral Conduction (1970-1971). During this time, Oberlin’s choral program became one of the finest in the nation. The Oberlin Choir made many tours across the nation and performed at various venues such as New York City’s Town Hall and Philharmonic Hall, as well as Boston’s Symphony Hall. In 1964, at the invitation of the United States Department of State, the Oberlin College Choir gave nearly 40 concerts in 55 days in the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Romania, in southeast Europe. Three days after the Kent State University shootings in 1970, Dean Fountain conducted 250 singers and 70 instrumentalists performing the Mozart Requiem in Washington Cathedral to express dissent and concern in what some have called one of Oberlin's finest hours (from the May 1970 Articles, Awards, Brooklyn, Yale scrapbook).

During his tenure at Oberlin College, Professor Fountain contributed widely to the choral music field. In 1954-1955, during a sabbatical leave to study at the Vienna Academy of Music and the Performing Arts, he coached the Vienna State Opera. He taught summer courses at the School of Sacred Music at the Union Theological Seminary in New York City (c. 1950s). Professor Fountain also directed the choir of the First Congregational Church of Oberlin, the college’s Chapel Choir and the 230-voice Musical Union. In 1970-1971, he held a visiting Distinguished Professorship at Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, New York. Later, he served on the choral panel for the National Endowment of the Arts.

In 1971, he accepted the position of Director of Choral Activities at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. (According to his son, Robert H. Fountain, Wisconsin offered Professor Fountain both a full time position in choral conducting and the opportunity to work in a graduate degree program). Under his direction, the University developed graduate degrees in choral conducting. Like the Oberlin College Choir, the UW-Madison Choir toured throughout the Midwest and East Coast and received a great many positive reviews. In 1973, they toured Venezuela at that country’s invitation. During the 1973-1974 academic year, Fountain directed the Battell Chapel Choir and the Collegium Chorale as Visiting Professor of Conducting.

Throughout his career, Fountain received significant recognition for his work in the field of music. In 1964, Mount Union College awarded him an honorary Doctor of Music degree and in 1987, the College of Wooster did the same. The Oberlin College Alumni Association awarded him the Alumni Medal for Distinguished Service to Oberlin College in 1982. The University of Wisconsin awarded him the Distinguished Teaching Award and the Chancellor’s Award in 1983 and the Board of Regents named him a Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation Senior Distinguished Professor. In March of 1996, he received the Weston Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Choral Art from the North Central Division of the American Choral Directories Association.

Professor Fountain’s contributions to the choral conducting community crossed cultural boundaries in significant ways. His presentation of the Ukrainian Bell Carol so inspired another conductor in the audience, Irina Sablina (later conductor of the Schedrych Youth Choir in Kiev), that she conducted the piece of music in the same manner. Over the next thirty years, Professor Fountain’s interpretation (of the Ukrainian Bell Carol) became the standard. A colleague, William Weinert, described Fountain in his remarks at the Oberlin College Tribute as a “concentrated, unstoppable force of nature” and “a beam of pure musical energy at work.” He went on to say that Fountain “was the ‘pull of infinity,’ pulling minds and voices and spirits with him. After that force confronted us we were never the same again.” Former students from both Oberlin College and the University of Wisconsin-Madison in their notes echoed this sentiment expressed by his colleague in 1996.

Mr. Fountain married Clara E. Cox (b. 1919) of Minerva, Ohio in 1941. Together they had one son, Robert H. Fountain (b. 1943).

In 1994, Robert P. Fountain retired from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and returned to Oberlin. He and his wife resided at the Kendal at Oberlin retirement community. He died there in May of 1996. His contributions as a faculty member were so significant that both Oberlin College and the University of Wisconsin-Madison held tribute concerts. The Oberlin Tribute Concert (1996), led by award winning conductor Robert Shaw, resulted in the creation of an endowed scholarship fund in Robert P. Fountain’s name.

Mrs. Clara Cox Fountain died on November 1, 2005, at Kendal in Oberlin, Ohio.

Sources Consulted

Faculty File of Robert P. Fountain, Alumni and Development Records (RG28/3); and, the Robert P. Fountain Papers (RG 30/368); obituary for Clara Cox Fountain (case file). Additional assistance provided by the donor, Robert H. Fountain.

Author: Joanne O'Dell and Kenneth M. Grossi

Forms of Material (links to similar genres)

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Administrative Information

Scope and Contents:

The Robert P. Fountain Papers document his career as a singing teacher and director of choral music, and to a lesser degree his early life. The bulk of his papers consist of thirteen scrapbooks, most of which his son, Robert H. Fountain, assembled. According to Bob, “the scrapbooks are full of how my father’s talents, drive, and personality affected those who studied with him, performed under his direction, attended performances, or knew him as a human being.” Included here, too, are two scrapbooks of Robert P. Fountain’s parents, one for Robert H. Fountain, and one for Bessie Pratt Fountain Hoffman. They document their musical lives and careers in important ways. The researcher should note that since the original order of the scrapbooks was preserved, the records series arrangement was largely predetermined.

The record corpus documents a man who shared with others his passion for music. The letters of appreciation from students and admirers, the tributes and awards, and the respect from colleagues and friends demonstrate the impact that Fountain had on the musical profession. He inspired his students to continue to study music and, in some cases, to teach music to future generations.

Although the scrapbooks and published articles provide an overview of the career of Robert P. Fountain, they do not contain a significant amount of material documenting his professional contacts or his method of teaching. There is also very little information available about his personal life. The performance related material such as programs, posters, flyers and reviews provide evidence of his progress to the top of his field. There are also phonograph recordings of his performances and many miscellaneous photographs of him and the choirs that he directed.

The Robert P. Fountain Papers are divided into five series: I. Biographical Files, II. Miscellaneous Papers, III. Printed Matter, IV. Scrapbooks, and V. Non-Textual Materials.

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

I. Biographical Files, c. 1942-1996 (8 folders)

The biographical files contain two short undated biographical sketches of Robert P. Fountain, his curriculum vitae, and several obituaries. Also included are articles written about Robert P. Fountain or his performances. The material is separated by type and then arranged chronologically. Additional biographical information can be found in the scrapbook series. For more information see each scrapbook’s title as it is listed on the Inventory.

II. Miscellaneous Papers, 1943-1946, 1963, n.d. (5 folders)

The miscellaneous papers are comprised of Robert P. Fountain’s musical arrangements, and notes from voice lessons and an Oberlin College Senior Assembly speech given by Professor Fountain in 1963. Also included are two musical notebooks of unknown authorship.

III. Printed Matter, 1938-1992 (7 folders)

The printed material is organized by type of performance (singing or conducting) and then ordered chronologically. Each folder may contain posters and programs of performances. Similar materials can also be found in the scrapbook series. For more information see each scrapbook’s title as it is listed on the Inventory.

IV. Scrapbooks, 1900-1996 (15 intact scrapbooks, 3 folders)

Most of these scrapbooks (13) document a specific period of time in the career of Robert P. Fountain. Each scrapbook has a title as noted in the Inventory. They contain programs, flyers or small posters from performances and photographs as well as letters of appreciation from admirers and thank you notes from former students. Many are handwritten and undated. There are some official letters received by Robert P. Fountain from churches or other organizations in appreciation of his work. Also included are two scrapbooks containing materials relating to his parents.

V. Non-textual Materials, 1951, 1964, 1970, 1974-1975, 1996, n.d. (11 folders, 18 CDs, 3 medals, 38 recordings)

The non-textual materials are organized into four subsets, including: the Weston Noble Award (1996) and three medals (n.d.), 16 compact discs (CD), phonograph recordings (1950-1970s, n.d.), and photographs. Seventeen of the 18 CDs contain digital images of the scrapbooks and other printed matter created by Robert H. Fountain. The one audio CD is of a 1978 Requiem Mass directed by Robert P. Fountain. The bulk of the 38 phonograph recordings are of Oberlin College Choir performances with Fountain as conductor. There are two of Robert Fountain singing and one of his mother as an accompanist. The photographs are of Robert P Fountain, his choirs, friends and family, including choral performances in the Washington Cathedral and abroad. They are organized by date and subject into nine folders, with two folders devoted to containing photographs from an album that was removed from a three-ring binder.

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