Yale School of Music records of the dean

In 1854, Joseph Battell donated money to Yale for the purpose of supporting instruction in music. The Yale Corporation approved the appointment of Gustave Jacob Stoeckel as an instructor in church music and other musical activities at Yale College in April of 1855. The Department of Music was established in 1889 and by 1890 Yale was offering its first credited courses in music. In 1894 Yale awarded its first Bachelor of Music degrees to a graduating class of four students. The graduate division was first established in 1932 and the Master of Music was first conferred in that year. In 1957 the Yale Corporation voted to change the status of the school to that of a graduate-professional school, and awarded the last Bachelor of Music degree in 1960. In 1968 Yale introduced a Master of Music and a Doctor of Music. Sprague Memorial Hall, completed in 1917 through a gift from the Sprague family, is part of the School of Music. Woolsey Hall, with a seating capavcity of 2,695, is the largest auditorium available to the school and houses the Newberry Memorial Organ. The Yale School of Music also includes the Institute of Sacred Music, as well as the Electronic Music Studio, the first studio of its kind in the country. The school is also affiliated with the Yale University Collection of Musical Instruments.