David S. Boe Papers, 1907-2002, n.d.
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Administrative/Biographical History
David Boe (b. 1936) is Professor of Organ and Harpsichord at the Conservatory of Music at Oberlin College. Joining the faculty of the Conservatory in 1962, he was appointed Associate Dean in 1974 and became Dean of the Conservatory in 1976, a position he held until mid-1990. Throughout the period of his Deanship he continued to perform and teach. He served also as Organist and Director of Music at First Lutheran Church, Lorain, Ohio, from 1962 until Pentecost Sunday 2002.
He received the B.A. degree magna cum laude from St. Olaf College and was a University Fellow at Syracuse University where he received the Mus. M. degree. On a Fulbright grant in 1960-61, he went on to study with Helmut Walcha at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Frankfurt, Germany. He returned to Europe in 1968 to study with the Dutch harpsichordist and organist, Gustav Leonhardt (b. 1928). On subsequent trips to Europe, he has appeared in concerts and on the radio, and has done research on North European instruments and early keyboard temperaments. He appears frequently in recitals in this country and has recorded on the Gasparo and Veritas labels. For several years he appeared on the nationally televised program “The Wind at One’s Fingertips.”
He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and served a four-year term as National President of Pi Kappa Lambda, the national music honor society. From 1981 until 1987 he served as elected Secretary of the National Association of Schools of Music and has continued to serve that organization as a consultant. He has chaired music accreditation teams or served as a consultant to the music programs at over 35 institutions. He has served as Vice President of the American Organ Academy and is presently on the Board of Trustees of the Westfield Center. He chairs the scholarship committee of the Presser Foundation. On leave from the Oberlin Conservatory during the 1990-91 school year, he served in the spring semester as Visiting Professor at Florida State University in Tallahassee. For the fall semester of the 1991-92 academic year, he was a visiting professor at the University of Notre Dame.
David Boe retired in 2008 as the Conservatory’s longest-serving faculty member. In 2011 the Oberlin Conservatory established the first endowed professorship named after a current or emeritus professor–the David Boe Chair in Organ Studies.
David Boe married Sigrid North (b. 1938) on July 23, 1961. This marriage produced two sons, Stephen (b. 1964) and Eric (b. 1967). The Boes reside in Oberlin, Ohio.
Sources Consulted
Biographical information provided by David S. Boe.
“Oberlin Recognizes Retiring Faculty and Staff Members,” Oberlin OnCampus, May 21, 2008, accessed at https://oncampus.oberlin.edu/source/articles/2008/05/21/oberlin-recognizes-retiring-faculty-and-staff-members.
Forms of Material (links to similar genres) Administrative Information
Consisting of three artificially constructed record series, the individual documents of varying value were collected by Professor of Organ David Boe over the course of the 1990s. Boe is less the creator of this history than Oberlin College’s point person to implement the proceeds of the K. Africa estate to install a new organ in Finney Chapel. The dedication of the Kay Africa Memorial Organ took place September 28-30, 2001. Boe’s role is also documented in the records of the Conservatory of Music.
Series I. Historical Files relating to Oberlin Community Pipe Organs, 1907(1992-98)-2002, n.d. (8 folders)
This series contains information on organs at Oberlin College, including the Brombaugh (1981 to present, Fairchild Chapel) and the E.M. Skinner (1915) / Aeolian – Skinner (rebuilt 1955, Finney Chapel). David Boe was involved in the sale of the Aeolian – Skinner organ to Truro Episcopal Church, Fairfax, VA in 1998 and the relevant materials are in this series. Also included are several photographs of the interior of Finney Chapel, the architectural drawings, and the plans for renovations. There are also several articles written by David Boe, including one on a local church’s pipe organ.
Series II. Files relating to Fisk Organ Project in Finney Chapel, 1987-2001 (10 folders)
Included in this series are several correspondence files related to the Fisk Organ Project, as well as David Boe’s “Rationale for a New Organ in Finney.” The files on the Kay Africa Estate and on other donors and bequests for the organ are restricted for ten years.
Series III. Files relating to Dedication of Fisk Organ, 1998-2001 (1 folder)
This series consists of one folder on the various publicity materials published for the dedication of the Kay Africa Memorial Organ on September 28-30, 2001.
INVENTORY
Series I. Historical Files relating to Oberlin Community Pipe Organs, 1907(1992-2000)-2002, n.d.
Box 1
Aeolian-Skinner Organ, sale of, 1992-1998
Brombaugh Organ in Fairchild Chapel,
Bosworth Hall, 1980s
Brombaugh Organ in First Lutheran Church,
Lorain, Ohio, 2000
Finney Chapel Organs (E.M. Skinner,
Aeolian-Skinner), 1928, 1982, n.d.
Finney Chapel Organ Drawings, 1907, 1992
Finney Chapel Renovations,
1982(1997-98)-2000
Organs at First Church in Oberlin, 2000-2002
The Organs of Oberlin College (General), n.d.
Series II. Files relating to Fisk Organ Project in Finney Chapel, 1987-2001
Box 1 (cont.)
Bedient Pipe Organ Company Files,
Jan. – Oct. 1992
Fisk Organ in Finney, Correspondence relating
to, 1992-2001 (3f)
Fisk Organ Project, Other Donors, 1991-1999
Kay Africa Estate, Correspondence relating to
(John Douglass), 1987-1993
Box 2
Jaeckel Incorporated Files, Sept.
1991 – Jan. 1992
Memoranda (Inter-Office), 1995-2000
“Rationale for New Organ in Finney,”
1992-1995
Finney Chapel Organ Project E-mail
Correspondence, 1999-2000
Series III. Files relating to Dedication of Fisk Organ, 1998-2001
Box 2 (cont.)
Publicity and Programs (re Fisk Organ
opening event), 1998-2001