Name: Butler, Bartlett R. (1927-2012)

Fuller Form: Butler, Bartlett Russell

Historical Note: <p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> <span id="docs-internal-guid-053b8ed2-7fff-40ce-92bc-b06f2561b389"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bartlett Butler was born July 21 1927 in Saint Paul Minnesota to his parents, Violet and Frank Butler. He was a musician from a young age, starting his career as a church musician at the age of 15. After studying at Macalester College for one year, Butler received his Bachelor of Arts in Classical Languages and Humanities from the University of Minnesota. He then went on to earn his M.A. in Music History and Literature from the same institution. Later on in his career, Butler would complete additional study in organ and church music at Northwestern University and earn his Ph.D. in Musicology and Theory in 1970 from the University of Illinois. Butler married his wife Barbara Daum in 1949 and later had three children: David, Anne and Paul.  Butler began his time at Luther College in 1954. He had arrived to fill a sabbatical spot to teach organ, theory, and German, along with directing the Chapel choir. He was then given a more permanent position at Luther and shortly after established the first orchestra on campus. During his time at Luther, Butler took an extended leave where he studied at the University of Illinois and took a year's residency in Germany under a grant from the Martha Baird Rockefeller Fund for Music. Upon returning from Europe and completing his dissertation, Butler decided he would no longer direct the choir. After a brief lapse in time, Butler formed the Collegium Musicum in the early 1970s, which he directed for 17 years until his retirement in 1989. Butler passed away at the age of 84 on January 15 2012 in Decorah, Iowa.</span></span>

Records or Manuscript Collections Created by Butler, Bartlett R.