Mariam Cannon Hayes School of Music

The Mariam Cannon Hayes School of Music is part of Appalachian State University and is one of the premier public music schools in the eastern United States. A fully accredited member of the National Association of Schools of Music, the Hayes School of Music offers undergraduate programs in music education, music performance, theory/composition, sacred music performance, music therapy, and music industry studies as well as Master of Music degrees in performance, music education, and music therapy. Particularly distinguished for its music performance, music education, and music therapy programs, the Hayes School of Music draws students and faculty from across the United States and the world. Through summer workshops and specialized course offerings (e.g. the North Carolina Summer Institute of Choral Arts), the Hayes School of Music is engaged in year-round activities. In addition, the school also sponsors the Cannon Music Camp, an annual comprehensive summer music camp that trains younger, high-school-age musicians, during which the North Carolina Symphony is in residence.

The first music teacher at what was to become Appalachian State University was Lillie Shull Dougherty, the wife of University Business Manager and Co-founder D.D. Dougherty. From its beginning, Appalachian State University offered students instruction in voice and piano on an extracurricular basis, and by the late 1920s, choruses, glee clubs, and string bands were flourishing on the campus of what was then Appalachian State Teachers College. Students' increased interest in music led to Edith Knight joining the music faculty, and she broadened the musical offerings to include music education, music appreciation, and additional applied music courses.

Knight was succeeded by Virginia Ward Linney in 1929, and the educational need to prepare specialists to teach music in the public schools led, a year later, to the creation of the Music Department, with Linney serving as chairperson. Soon afterward, courses in harmony, music education, music history and applied music were added to the curriculum. During the Depression years, when enrollment of the University fluctuated between 350 and 900 students in any given year, the college and surrounding area faced hard times. In spite of this, the Music Department continued to expand. More courses were added in order to educate music teachers with an emphasis on excellence in performance. To further this end, in 1939, Gordon Nash and J. Elwood Roberts began teaching band and orchestral instrument methods classes. Two years later, Roy R. Blanton and John B. Thompson were recipients of the first music education degrees conferred by Appalachian.

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