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Show THE HISTORY BLAZER IYEII'S OF ZITAH'S PAST FRO1I. i THE Utah State IIistoriral Societ17 300 Rio Grailde Salt Lake dit!: VT 84101 ( 801) 533- 3500 FAX ( 801) 333- 3303 . Gerrit de Jong, Jr., Influenced the Arts and Education BORNIN AMSTERDAM, HOLLANDO, N MARCH20 , 1892, GERRITD E JONG, JR., demon-strated his musical talent early. At age 12 he was chosen as the one representative from his school to sing in a children's choir for a performance of Gustav Mahler's Ninth Symphony with the composer conducting. He came to the United States at age 15 and studied at LDS College in Salt Lake City. He received his B. A. and M. A. from the University of Utah. He also studied at the University of Mexico and the University of Munich in Germany. His doctoral work at Stanford University centered on Germanic and Romantic languages and literature. During a career that spanned some 55 years he exerted a strong influence on the arts and education in Utah. De Jong began teaching music to private students soon after his arrival in Utah. During 1916- 18 he was an instructor at Murdock Academy in Beaver and from 1919 to 1925 taught at the LDS College in Salt Lake City. In 1925 Franklin S. Harris, president of Brigham Young Universi-ty, asked de Jong to establish BYU's College of Fine Arts; he served as its dean for 34 years. He was professor of modem languages from 1925 until his retirement in 1972, but he taught a wide range of subjects, including German, Portuguese, German and Portuguese literature, aesthetics, phonetics, and religion, and gave private piano and organ lessons to advanced students. He lectured extensively and wrote books and articles on aesthetics, modernity in art, ethics, modem languages and literature, religious philosophy, and the doctrine and tenets of the LDS church. He wrote at least 15 church study manuals that were translated into many languages and served on the General Board of the Sunday School for 34 years. He was an active member of the Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters and served a term as its president. A prolific composer, de Jong wrote music for single voice to oratorio choir and for woodwind quintet to symphony orchestra. His favorite form, though, was the string quartet. The de Jong Concert Hall in the Harris Fine Arts Center at BYU was named for him in 1965. During the years that Harold R. Clark managed the BYU music festivals and lyceum series, many of the world's great artists performed in Provo to a mixed audience of community and university patrons. In the early days, before many BYU buildings had been built, private faculty homes, including the de Jong residence, were used for entertaining visiting artists such as Artur Rubinstein, Fritz Kreisler, Jascha Heifetz, Ezio Pinza, Helen Traubel, Bela Bartock, the Paganini Quartet, and others. The de Jong home at 640 North University Avenue in Provo, the scene of many musical evenings, is a one and one- half story Dutch Colonial Revival house built during 1934- 35 by the ( more) Talbot Construction Company. Its gambrel roof, one- story sun porch, and mix of materials - brick on the first floor and clapboard on the upper story- are typical of this style. It was designed by architect Joseph Nelson who was responsible for many significant public and private buildings in Provo and on the BYU campus, including the former Provo post office, Dixon Junior High School, and the Amanda Knight Hall. De Jong married Rosabelle Winegar in 19 1 1, and they had three daughters. Rosabelle died in 1940. In 195 1 de Jong married Thelma Bonharn. He died in 1979. Sources: Ralph B. Simmons, comp., Utah ' s Distinguished Personalities ( Salt Lake City, 1933); National Register of Historic Places hventory/ Nomination Form, Gemt de Jong, Jr., House, prepared by Roselle Anderson Hamblin, Utah State Historical Society Library. Note: the home is not listed in the National Register. THE HISTOBRLYA ZERi s produced by the Utah State Historical Society and funded in part by a grant from the Utah Statehood Centennial Commission. For more information about the Historical Society telephone 533- 3500. 960413 ( MBM) |
