Julius and Hanna Herford Fund
This fund was created in memory of Julius and Hanna Herford and to acknowledge Julius Herford's artistic career as a scholar and mentor in choral music, along with his valued contributions as a revered Distinguished Professor of Music on the faculty of the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University.
Julius Herford was born in Anklam, Germany in 1901. He studied piano with James Kwast and composition with Klatte and Arthur Willner in Berlin at the Stern Conservatory. He had a career as a touring pianist until joining the faculty at Teachers College of Columbia University in 1939. His teaching career took him to many institutions, such as the Juilliard School of Music, the Berkshire Music Center, the Union Theological Seminary, Manhattan School of Music, and Westminster Choir College, until it took him to the Jacobs School of Music in 1964. At IU, he was eventually appointed Director of Graduate Studies for the Choral Conducting Department, and retired as Professor Emeritus in 1971.
Herford is remembered as one of the most influential choral conductors in American choral history. His many students include Robert Shaw, Margaret Hillis, Roger Wagner, and Elaine Brown. Throughout his teaching career, Herford taught courses on the history and analysis of choral works. His lecture notes and personal scores are available at the Cook Music Library at the Jacobs School as part of the Julius Herford Collection.
The Julius and Hanna Herford Fund supports the choral department to invite visiting scholars and conductors.