Harry Hadley Schyde
1900-1988
Although Harry Hadley Schyde was born in Fresno, California, and taught at Walla Walla College from 1937 to 1940, he spent most of his life in the East and regarded New Haven, Connecticut, as his hometown. A gifted bass with an extended range, he spent the summer of 1927 studying voice in Paris and Berlin after graduating with a B.Mus. from Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Upon his return that fall, he won scholarships for study in voice at the Julliard School and the Damrosch Institute of Musical Art. During his study in New York City he became a featured singer on NBC radio and with the WEAF opera company program.
In the spring of 1929, when Schyde gave a recital at Atlantic Union College, the school, impressed by both his performance and outgoing personality, invited him to come and teach, starting that fall. During his time at AUC he and his choirs performed frequently to great acclaim. With his deep resonant voice he was a popular soloist and was often featured on a nearby radio station in Boston where he became known as "The Messenger of Cheer."
Schyde sang several times during a General Conference session held in California in the 1930's. The president of Walla Walla College, impressed by what he had heard and observed in visiting with him, invited him to go to WWC. Although he initially was not interested, the WWC business manager traveled to New England and convinced him to accept the invitation.
As Schyde arrived on campus in 1937, two extended interviews reported in the school paper described his career and his interests. Schyde mentioned human nature as his first hobby and said that he also enjoyed oratory, and loved "the platform, people, and concert and radio work." The student interviewer was allowed to examine a scrapbook that had over 2,000 articles and 250 photos of Schyde that had been published in newspapers, including the New York Times and others.
In 1940, Schyde left WWC to complete graduate study in Chicago on a master's in music at the American School of Music. Following completion of another master's degree in education at Northwestern University, he moved to New York City to do continued graduate work at Columbia University.
Just as he began his study at CU, he was asked to be supervisor of the New Haven, Connecticut, public school system, a position he accepted and held for the next 25 years. During those years Schyde performed frequently for the Adventist church, singing in revival meetings and giving benefit concerts for churches. His travels would take him and his wife, Eva, around the world three times.
He also continued to sing in other venues. Following a performance at the Golden State Music School, he was awarded an honorary doctorate. He retired in 1967 and moved to Florida, where he taught voice at colleges in the Palm Beach area for two years.
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