Originally published 2.06.23
Legend: Dett was enrolled at the Conservatoire Américain de Fontainebleau, France.
Status: Untrue. There are no records establishing his enrollment there.
In early January 2023, I corresponded with Joe Kerr, current Program Director of the Conservatoire Américain de Fontainebleau. Without any prompting from me, or even knowing what I was actually seeking, Joe wrote me the following:
“It would be very exciting for us if R. Nathaniel Dett studied at Fontainebleau, but I have yet to see his name show up on the student lists I have scanned … It was not unusual, however, for students to study privately with Nadia Boulanger or another professor, or at the École Normale and then come to Fontainebleau for lessons in the summer. The American Committee in the early days was also openly racist. You might have heard of Augusta Savage, a very talented sculptor, who was prevented from attending in 1923, despite pleas from the NAACP, and other groups.
“Here is an article: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/79504307/naacp-savage-1923/ The only African American I’ve seen in photos from the 20s was Maude Wanzer in 1925. She was a very talented and influential pianist and musician. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/79240032/dr-maude-wanzer-layne-1951/ “
I also checked the student cards for 1929 and could not find Dett among them. If you think about it, however, you might conclude that the Conservatoire’s regular curriculum would have little value for Dett, who already had a conservatory education and two doctoral degrees by the summer of 1929.
Kendra Preston Leonard’s The Conservatoire Américain: A History, provides an insightful and readily-accessible source on Fontainebleau that should be indispensable to any musings on Dett’s involvement with Fontainebleau, if any—this has yet to be established, in my frank opinion, which Preston Leonard seems to share because she never mentions Dett’s name. Founded initially as a WWI training center for military musicians, the Conservatoire transformed by 1921 into an avenue for American musicians to acquire the equivalent of certifications traditionally granted by the Paris Conservatoire, particularly for women.
However, as Preston Leonard has observed, the school’s mission crept into something different: “A far cry from the detailed screening forms of the Paris Conservatoire, applications for admission to the Conservatoire Américain’s first session requested simply the applicant’s name, the course he or she wished to take, and letters of recommendation. These letters tended to be from clergy, bank managers, and personal or family friends rather than professional musicians or professors…Composer Aaron Copland, who was the first student to enroll, provided a recommendation letter in which his teacher remarks that his student always pays on time, but says nothing about young Aaron’s talent or dedication to a life in music” (p. xxvi). In general, “with a good bank balance and positive character references, almost everyone who applied for the 1921 session was admitted” (p. xxvii) because the institution could barely stay afloat financially during its first years.
I am also not sure what Dett might have gained by completing a course of study at the Conservatoire. The perceived disappointment regarding the level of the 1920s student body manifested in the credentials granted. As Preston Leonard notes, “By 1926, however, most students were awarded diplomas or certificates either for “excellence in execution” or “fitness for teaching” (p. 12), far cries from the Prix awarded by the Paris Conservatoire that launched careers in France. Not that Dett needed those, since he was already a touring pianist well before he sailed to France.
Further, I do not know how he might have benefitted from the required coursework, even if he had been offered private lessons (and not been made to sit with inexperienced students). The compulsory courses on offer were appropriate to undergraduate music study: harmony, counterpoint, ear-training (solfège), music history, and performance on one or more instruments. Post-Depression, the curriculum added French language courses, “stage deportment” (p. 26), and specialized studies in single musical forms or genres (songs, sonatas).
It will take another post (or more) to explain how this legend even arose, but for now, I personally would be glad to leave this legend behind. We can admire Dett’s music without needing to justify his existence as an alumnus of any institution. After all, composers were able to forge influential careers without receiving a drop of institutionalized training.