Biography of Sterrie A. Weaver

At the age of twenty-one years, Sterrie A Weaver began teaching, and has been pursuing that profession for twenty-four years. Beginning with old-fashioned New England singing schools, he was worked his way steadily upward, teaching the piano for about twenty years and voice culture for seventeen or eighteen years, in about forty towns of Western Massachusetts and Connecticut.  He studied at the New England Conservatory with John O'Neil Buckingham and S.A. Emery; the voice with W.H. Leib, Signor Rotoli, Virginia P. Marwick and Reinhold Hermann , and the piano with N.H. Allen of Hartford, Connecticut.  He sang bass in quartet choirs for years.  Mr. Weaver spent about a year and a half at Leipsic Conservatory, principally with Gustav Ewald, an old associate teacher and theatre director with  Franz Abu.  He acquired piano and theory with Paul Quasdorf.  Mr. Weaver completed the full course of harmony, counterpoint and fugue.  He has been in public school work for thirteen years in Torrington , Connecticut , Westfield and Amherst Massachusetts , and has had many offers to go to other places.  He has taught with conspicuous success at the summer schools at Boston and at Asbury Park .  His books "Supervisor and Regular Teacher," and one published by Ginn & Co., entitled a "System of Individual Sight Singing," have met with remarkable success.  He is preparing a set of books on "Musical History for Public Schools," The work in the schools has been repeatedly complimented as being far and away superior to anything ever seen and this is the opinion of experts who have traveled extensively.  

When Mr. Weaver went to Europe, he endeavored to resign his position as school music supervisor, but was not permitted to do so, being offered a leave of absence if he would furnish a substitute and supervise the work from across the water, the object being to keep his particular methods at work.  This method is the result of many years of experience and deep study of the needs of this branch of study in the public school room, and not a blind following of any published system.  He differs essentially from the methods usually employed and can give a reason for his so differing. The two leading points in which he has departed altogether from any method now in use, is in the teaching of time and the use of individual singing.  

Several of the leading supervisors of the country have expressed themselves as believing that he has solved the problem of how to find time during the regular singing period to have each child sing alone and sing at sight, not repeating what has been sung in his presence.  The most flattering testimonial to his worth is the fact that supervisors from other places come to him to learn his methods and do this by a regular course of study and observation, supplemented by practical work in the school room under his supervision.  At the present time he has five such supervisors studying with him, some of them coming long distances.  

In years past he has don a great deal in the line of entertainment, more particularly in the line of comic opera, like "Pinafore," "Patience," "Olivette," etc.  Mr. Weaver has chorus class in connection with the High School Extension work at Torrington , and in the near future they are to bring out "The Gypsies," by Becker, and "Christmas Eve" by Gade.  He also does a very large private work, working every hour that he is not sleeping.  Mr. Weaver is president of the Association of Public School Music Supervisors of Western Massachusetts, and president of the Connecticut Public School Music Teachers' Association.  

A large exhibit, probably the largest and broadest ever made from public schools, of musical history  work, as done by the schools of Torrington, has been displayed at Torrington, New Haven, and for three weeks at Asbury Park, New Jersey"  

The Tabula - Torrington High School Newspaper - February 1899

Other writings from Sterrie A. Weaver

"Our Music Department" by Sterrie Weaver - "The Tabula January 1898"

Music in The Public Schools - 1895