James Thomas Quarles (November 7, 1877 in

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

– March 4, 1954 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

) was a 20th-century American organist, educator, and academic. He was National President of both the

Music Teachers National Association Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) is an American nonprofit professional organization for the support, growth, and development of music-teaching professionals, with more than 17,000 members in 50 states, and more than 500 affiliated loca ...

and music fraternity

Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia (legally Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America, colloquially known as Phi Mu Alpha, PMA, or simply Sinfonia) () is an American collegiate social Fraternities and sororities, fraternity for men with a special interest ...

. In his long tenure he taught at

Lindenwood University Lindenwood University is a private university in St. Charles, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1832 by George Champlin Sibley and Mary Easton Sibley as The Lindenwood School for Girls, it is the second-oldest higher-education institution wes ...

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

, and the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

. He was the founding dean of the University of Missouri School of Fine Arts including the

University of Missouri School of Music The School of Music is an academic division of the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. Its focus is the study of music, awarding baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral degrees as part of the College of Arts and Science. The instituti ...

. In 1905 he wrote one of Cornell's school songs "Cornell Hymn" In the 1920s he edited a compilation of Missouri school songs and was advisor to the Zeta chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. He acquired and played the organ at

Missouri United Methodist Church The Missouri United Methodist Church is a United Methodist church in downtown Columbia, Missouri. Its congregation formed the first Methodist Church in Columbia in 1837. The present building on 9th Street built between 1925 and 1930 is construct ...

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in Missouri, United States. It was founded in 1821 as the county seat of Boone County, Missouri, Boone County and had a population of 126,254 as recorded in the 2020 United States census, making it the List of cities in Misso ...

. For a time

Annie White Baxter Annie White Baxter (March 2, 1864 – June 28, 1944) was a Missouri politician. At her election as county clerk of Jasper County, Missouri, in 1890, she became the first elected female office-holder in the state, as well as the first female count ...

served as his secretary. He studied organ under famed St. Louis organist

Charles Henry Galloway Charles Henry Galloway (December 21, 1871 – March 9, 1931) was a St. Louis, Missouri church and concert organist, choral conductor, educator, and composer. At tall, Galloway was a large man with a commanding presence. His hands were so large, ...

References

1877 births 1954 deaths American classical organists University of Missouri faculty University of Missouri School of Music faculty Cornell University faculty Cornell University alumni Musicians from Columbia, Missouri Lindenwood University faculty Classical musicians from Missouri American male classical organists {{organist-stub