author

Robert Rutherford Drummond

1883–1946

A Maine scholar and longtime University of Maine professor, he is best remembered for bringing early German-American musical history into focus. His best-known book, published in 1910, explores the overlooked musical life of early Philadelphia with calm, careful scholarship.

1 Audiobook

Early German music in Philadelphia

Early German music in Philadelphia

by Robert Rutherford Drummond

About the author

Born in Bangor, Maine, in 1883, Robert Rutherford Drummond went on to graduate from the University of Maine in 1905. He later studied in Germany, earned a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, and began teaching German at the University of Maine in 1909.

Drummond spent the rest of his career at the university, serving as head of its German department until his death in 1946. His academic life was rooted in language, culture, and history, and he built a reputation as a dedicated teacher as well as a scholar.

He is best known as the author of Early German Music in Philadelphia (1910), a study of German musical influence in early American life. The book reflects his interest in German culture beyond language alone, tracing how immigrant communities helped shape Philadelphia's religious and secular music traditions.