Hamilton Gazetteer / Entities / James Fankhauser

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James Fankhauser

Overview

James L. Fankhauser was Assistant Professor of Music and Director of the Hamilton College Choir from 1967 to 1973. A Fulbright scholar trained at Oberlin, the Royal Academy of Music, Oxford, and UC Berkeley, he was widely regarded by choir members and observers as one of the finest conductors Hamilton had known. He resigned in spring 1973 to join the faculty of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, citing a lack of institutional support for the arts at Hamilton.

Relevance to Research

Fankhauser appears in at least 38 corpus files in the Hamilton Spectator, spanning his entire tenure from fall 1967 through his resignation notice in April 1973. His arrival was covered as significant news — a “boisterous, bearded, bald” conductor who injected new energy into the choir — and his departure was treated as an institutional loss. His tenure coincides with the founding of Kirkland College, and the 1973 departure article notes that the combined Hamilton–Kirkland choir produced in its first year exceeded even Fankhauser’s own expectations. His resignation statements about a “lack of sympathy toward the arts on this campus” constitute a primary source commentary on the college’s institutional culture during the early 1970s.

Notes

Role: Assistant Professor of Music; Choir Director (1967–1973)
Key events: - B.A., Oberlin College - Studied one year in England at the Royal Academy of Music and Oxford under a Fulbright grant - M.A., University of California, Berkeley, 1965 - Served as Director of the Choir at Smith College immediately before Hamilton - Joined Hamilton faculty as Choir Director in fall 1967 - Described on arrival as teaching two music theory courses in addition to directing the choir (Spectator, September 29, 1967) - Conducted the Hamilton Choir’s first Hill concert of the 1967–68 season jointly with the Oneonta State Women’s Glee Club, November 1967; drew praise for his command of J.S. Bach and his musical preparation - Led annual Christmas carolling at the College Community Christmas Party, December 1967 - Directed the combined Hamilton–Kirkland choir in 1972–73, the first year of full coeducation with Kirkland - Resigned spring 1973 to accept a faculty position at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver - Choir Manager Eugene Malarsky ‘73 called him “one of the finest conductors I have ever seen” and noted that singers on the Hill often discussed his being “too good for the Hill” - Cited reasons for leaving: lack of administrative cooperation on scheduling rehearsal times, limited opportunities for musical self-expression, and a general “lack of sympathy toward the arts on this campus” - Expected Vancouver’s thirty-member music department to offer a more fully musical environment and relief from administrative duties