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• 1 2026-02-09T19:36:28+00:00 Let the Music Move You: An Overview of Music on Campus 18 This page provides information about music on campus plain 2026-02-10T16:40:10+00:00 Music at Case Western Reserve University, Western Reserve University and Case Institute of Technology encompasses curricular offerings, musical groups, performances and organizations.
  
  From the solitary to the social...
  
  
  ...from courses to concerts...
  
  
  ...music has spanned generations of CWRU life.
  
  

  Musical instruction was first offered at Western Reserve University through an affiliation with the Cleveland Conservatory of Music in 1888. Courses in piano, violin, and voice were offered. But, according to the Catalog, those courses "must be considered as extra work, which will not be received as equivalent for the regular or elective work of the college curriculum."
  
  It was not until 1899 that the regular curriculum of the College for Women included music. The two courses offered were History of Music and Harmony and Counterpoint. All the music classes were taught by Charles E. Clemens, professor of music for 30 years. Adelbert College began offering music courses in 1924 and Cleveland College followed in 1927.
  
  
  Musical organizations were established quickly. In 1828, only 2 years after Western Reserve College was chartered, the Handel Society was organized. The college choir started in the 1830s and the glee club developed from this. Case School of Applied Science established its glee club in 1897. Mandolin clubs were popular at Adelbert College, Flora Stone Mather College, and Case School of Applied Science in the 1890s and early 20th century. The colleges' orchestras, marching bands, and other ensembles have performed at concerts, university ceremonies, and athletic events both on and off campus.
  
  
  The university has hosted concerts by professional musicians. Concerts have featured performers such as Cab Calloway, Bonnie Raitt, Ray Charles, Pink Floyd, Eddie Money, Genesis, Supertramp, The Guess Who, They Might be Giants, and Violent Femmes among many.
  
  
  The campus radio station broadcasts music to the campus, local community, and parts of northeast Ohio. From the basement of the Mather Memorial Building, Western Reserve University's student radio station, WRAR-AM, went on the air for the first time on February 14, 1955. In 1967, WRUW-FM began its first broadcast, replacing WRAR-AM. Over the years, the radio station has broadcast commencement ceremonies and athletic events in addition to the traditional music format. In May of 1970, the radio station broadcast the Faculty Senate special meeting called to respond to the campus situation in the wake of the Kent State shootings. In 2026, WRUW-FM continues to operate, providing a wide array of programming.
  
  
  Sources
  For more information about music on campus, see the list of published histories on our CWRU Archives Sources page.  In addition to the published histories, information comes from records in the Case Western Reserve University Archives.

• 1 2020-03-29T17:47:32+00:00 Flora Stone Mather Alumnae Association Founders 16 "The strength of the college is in its alumae." - Isabella Birdsall Morley plain 2021-03-03T14:18:25+00:00 1894 Information was compiled by staff of the Case Western Reserve University Archives, May 2008.
  
  Mather Alumnae Association Founders
  Advisory Council President, Isabella Birdsall Morley, was regarded as the force behind the Association, declaring, “The strength of the college is in its alumnae.” At the time, the College had 8 alumnae. In February 1894, 5 of them organized the College for Women Alumnae Association. There are 4 founders listed here. The fifth founder is not identified in Alumnae Association or College records. She was one of these remaining alumnae: Mary Elizabeth Babbitt, B.L., 1893; Helen Hutchinson Cowing, B.L., 1892; Mary Louisa French, A.B. 1891; Mary Almina Johnson, B.L., 1892.
  
  
  Eleanor Lewin Critchley (1869-1943)
  A founding member of the Mather Alumnae Association, Eleanor Lewin Critchley was born August 21, 1869 in Cleveland. She graduated from Central High School and received the Ph.B. in 1893 from the College for Women, taking the Latin English curriculum. She taught for 5 years at Willoughby High School and later, Astoria High School in Oregon. She died in December of 1943.
  
  Three women playing musical instruments
  
  Adelaide Cooke Denison (1871-1952)
  In 1893 Adelaide Cooke Denison became the first secretary of the Mather Alumnae Association. She was born August 19, 1871 in Cleveland and graduated from Central High School. Miss Denison received the B. L. degree from the College for Women in 1893, taking the Modern Language curriculum. She also attended Normal School in 1895-1896. She taught at Central High School and other Cleveland public high schools. She died March 10, 1952.
  
  
  Emilie Christiana Monck (1872–1956)
  Miss Monck served as the Alumnae Association’s first president in 1894. She graduated from the College for Women in 1893 and also received her M.A. from Western Reserve University in 1894. Her college preparation was at Cleveland’s Central High School, where she later taught English. Both her parents were from Wexford County, Ireland, where her mother attended the Young Ladies Seminary. They emigrated to Guelph, Ontario, Canada, where Emilie was born July 14, 1872. She died in December 1956.
  
  
  Ida Blanche Sanders (1871- ?)
  A founding member of the Alumnae Association, Ida Sanders was born in Washington, D.C. April 1, 1871. She received her college preparation at Cleveland’s Central High School. She attended Wellesley College for two years, before returning to Cleveland to attend the College for Women. In 1893 she received the B.L. degree. The following year she attended Normal School and taught in the Cleveland schools from 1894 to 1898. In 1899 she married Adam H. Graham.
  
  Information was compiled by staff of the Case Western Reserve University Archives, May 2008.