Higgins, Sara Wyche, 1920-2010

Greeson, Jennifer

Charlotte, North Carolina

J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

1993-06-07

1 audio file (1:34:24) : digital, MP3 + 1 transcript (40 pages)

sound recording-nonmusical

spoken word

eng

Sara Wyche Higgins was a 72-year-old woman at the time of interview, which took place at her home in Mint Hill, North Carolina. She was born in Greenville, South Carolina in 1920. She was educated at Wellesley College and was employed as a piano teacher.

Sara Wyche Higgins discusses her almost forty years as a piano teacher in Mint Hill and Charlotte, North Carolina. After moving to Mint Hill in the late 1940s, Mrs. Higgins soon began playing accompaniment at Bain School (now Bain Elementary School), and she describes the central role the school played in the close-knit community's cultural life. A former president of the Charlotte Piano Teachers' Forum, Mrs. Higgins discusses the role the organization has had in raising the level of music education in the city through its monthly programs, master classes, and recitals. She shares her own philosophy on teaching piano, including the need for regular practice and the importance of creating a positive learning experience for children. Mrs. Higgins also discusses working at the Southern Park Music School, explaining that the school's success shows that music lessons can occur in a businesslike setting without reducing the standards of instruction.

MP3 access copy created on ingest from WAV preservation master. Interview originally recorded on analog audio cassette and digitized using a Digidesign 003 rack.

Piano teachers

Higgins, Sara Wyche, 1920-2010

Southern Park Music School (Charlotte, N.C.)
Charlotte Piano Teachers’ Forum (Charlotte, N.C.)
North Carolina Music Educators Association
Bain Elementary School (Charlotte, N.C.)

Piano music
Music--Instruction and study
Piano music--Instruction and study
Music appreciation

North Carolina--Charlotte
North Carolina--Mint Hill

Interviews
Oral histories

1940-2000

Levine Museum of the New South

Professional Women

Living Charlotte : the Postwar Development of a New South City

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Digitization made possible by funding from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the State Library of North Carolina, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources.

audio/mpeg

MU-HI0016

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13093/uncc:240