From “Child-Savers” to Music-Makers: Music Education in the New Mexico Girls’ Welfare Home and Industrial School for Boys, 1932-1943

Recent scholarship has established the positive impact of music education experiences for children and youth in conflict with the law in the United States. Although the organization of music education experiences in juvenile justice appears to be a growing trend in the 21st century, music education flourished in juvenile reform institutions in early 20th century virtually disappearing in the late 1960s. Music programs in these industrial and manual training schools thrived during the Progressive Era, yet little is known about music programs in these institutions during the 1930s when the Great Depression sparked an increase in the number of dependent and delinquent youths to be committed to these institutions. This study examines music education programs initiated by the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Music Project in New Mexico’s two juvenile reform institutions, the Girls Welfare Home and State Industrial School for Boys, 1932-1943. The programs were part of a larger initiative by the New Mexico Federal Music Project that chose to cultivate community music rather than nurture professional ensembles. Contextualized within the “child-saver” movement that gave rise to the child welfare and juvenile court, findings indicated that the success of the programs hinged on New Mexico’s inclusive approach to music-making that united the institutions with the greater community.