West Georgia has maintained a musical tradition since its earliest days as the Fourth District A&M School. By the mid-to-late 1920s, it had a band, possibly known as the “orchestra,” composed of both male and female members. By 1933, the school, now known as West Georgia College, had both Women’s and Men’s Glee Clubs. The Glee Clubs presented annual Christmas programs and toured the west Georgia region, in addition to other programming (Department of Music programs, Box 8, Folders 6 and 7).

By school year 1942-1943, the College offered a Women’s Glee Club and, “when possible, a College Orchestra” (West Georgia College Bulletin, 1942-1943, p. 19). Students were granted one course credit for fulfilling satisfactory requirements for membership in the College’s A Cappella Choir (West Georgia College Bulletin, 1942-1943, p. 19).

That same year, the Bulletin also noted the addition of a music room, a gift of the Carnegie Foundation, located in the Rural Arts Building. It was equipped with a “complete library of records and with an excellent record player” and was “intended to be a gathering place for students and faculty members to enjoy formal and informal musical programs” (West Georgia College Bulletin, 1942-1943, p. 19). Programs, such as the “Music Hour,” were presented in the West Georgia College Music Room with much of the Music Hour, at least in 1942, focusing on the history of music (Department of Music programs, Box 8, Folder 9).

By 1942, West Georgia was presenting annual Vesper Services; Commencement Concerts (its Twentieth on May 31, 1953); Christmas Concerts; and Spring Choral Concerts among other programs (Department of Music programs, Box 8, Folders 6-7, 11).

In March 1944, courses in music appeared in the West Georgia College Bulletin for the first time. These two courses in Public School Music were nested in the Division of Language, Literature, and the Arts (West Georgia College Bulletin, 1944, p. 43). Two years later, College Choir was listed in the Bulletin as a one hour class (West Georgia College Bulletin, 1946, p. 13).

In the March 1955-1956 Bulletin, Band was listed as an activity for students who had prior experience and could furnish their own instruments (West Georgia College Bulletin, 1955-56, p. 45). The following year, two courses in College Band were added to the Bulletin, each providing one course credit (West Georgia College Bulletin, 1956-1957, p. 21).

As West Georgia College moved from junior college to senior college status, coursework in music expanded to also include Music Appreciation and applied music (West Georgia College Bulletin, 1958-1959, p. 40). By December 1958, West Georgia was presenting The Messiah on campus and in Carrollton’s churches (Department of Music Programs, Box 8, Folder 10).

In academic year 1960-1961, the division’s name was changed to the Division of the Humanities (West Georgia College Bulletin, 1960-1961, p. 62). In that year or shortly thereafter, the West Georgia Concert Series was instituted with organist William Weaver the first performer and Kay Griffel, mezzo soprano, presenting the second program on November 6, 1961 (Department of Music Programs, Box 8, Folder 14).

Robert Milton Coe joined the faculty of West Georgia College in March 1964 as Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Fine Arts which was established in 1963 (Robert Coe in correspondence with John Ferling, July 19, 2016; West Georgia College Bulletin, 1963-1964, p. 8). Disciplines included Music, Art, and Speech and Theatre. The six faculty members were housed in the Martha Munro Building. One of the classrooms had a small stage so it served as a recital hall. All concerts and plays were scheduled in the college auditorium. In 1963, the building was also the gym with the Dining Hall on the lower level. After construction of the Performing Arts Center, it was designated as space for intramurals (Robert Coe in correspondence with John Ferling, July 19, 2016).

Coe’s leadership initiated tremendous growth in musical programming at West Georgia College which was continued by his successors. In May 1964, Coe inaugurated the Fine Arts Festival at West Georgia College, a campus tradition, held each spring for 38 years (through 2002) (Department of Music Programs, Boxes 1-6). Music minors in the Bachelor of Science in Education Degree and the Bachelor of Arts Degree were offered the following year (West Georgia College Bulletin, 1964-1965, p. 76).

In the 1966-1967 academic year, the College offered a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Music Education and, in 1968, the Department of Fine Arts instituted its first general core curriculum course (West Georgia College Bulletin, 1966-1967, p. 88; West Georgia College Bulletin, 1968-1969, p. 85).

Art became a separate department in 1975 leaving music and speech/theatre in the Fine Arts Department (Robert Coe in correspondence with John Ferling, July 19, 2016). On July 1, 1986, the Department of Fine Arts split into two departments: the Department of Music, with Coe as chair, and the Department of Mass Communication and Theatre Arts chaired by Dr. Chester Gibson (West Georgia College Undergraduate Catalog, 1986-1987, pp. 361, 364).

Robert Coe continued as chair of the Department of Music through the 1993-1994 academic year (West Georgia College Undergraduate Catalog, 1993-1994, p. 358; West Georgia College Undergraduate Catalog, 1994-1995, p. 430-431). Dr. M. Scott McBride assumed that role two years later in the 1995-1996 academic year and remained in that position through academic year 2002-2003 (West Georgia College Undergraduate Catalog, 1995-96, p. 454; State University of West Georgia Undergraduate Catalog, 2002-2003, p. 454). Dr. Kevin Robert Hibbard became interim chair of the Department of Music in the 2003-2004 academic year, chair in 2004-2005, and retired from the University of West Georgia on July 1, 2020. (State University of West Georgia Undergraduate Catalog, 2003-2004, p. 452; State University of West Georgia Undergraduate Catalog, 2004-2005, p. 450; University of West Georgia Office of Academic Affairs, 2021).