James Hamilton Howe was a pianist and the first Dean of the Music School at DePauw University

DePauw University

DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, USA, is a private, national liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,400 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the Great Lakes Colleges Association...

 in Greencastle

Greencastle

Greencastle may refer to:In the United States:* Greencastle, Indiana, a city* Greencastle, Missouri, a city* Greencastle, Pennsylvania, a borough* Greencastle, West Virginia, an unincorporated community...

, Indiana when it was founded in 1884.

Depauw University

During the first year of his term, Howe gave two lecture-recitals on the “History of Pianoforte Technique” and “My System of Pianoforte Technique,” and gave the first recital the School of Music offered. Professors of Piano Glen Sherman, Claude Cymerman, and Lorna Griffitt repeated that exact program as a part of the School of Music's centennial celebration in 1984. Over the next 10 years, Howe established a curriculum, overcome strong opposition to an opera program, and encourage an active performance calendar.

Alpha Chi Omega

While he was Dean of the Music School, Howe was also instrumental in the founding of Alpha Chi Omega

Alpha Chi Omega

Alpha Chi Omega is a women's fraternity founded on October 15, 1885. Currently, there are 135 chapters of Alpha Chi Omega at colleges and universities across the United States and more than 200,000 lifetime members...

 fraternity. Howe gathered together seven young women from the school to attend a meeting for the purpose of forming a society. The first appearance of the seven founders -- Anna Allen, Olive Burnett, Bertha Deniston, Amy DuBois, Nellie Gamble, Bessie Grooms and Estelle Leonard -- was in Meharry Hall of East College, wearing scarlet and olive ribbon streamers attached to their dresses.