George E. Allen Sr., pioneering music teacher, band leader, composer, and author, has died at 87
He combined his love of music and education to connect with both musicians and students. “Once you get their confidence and they trust you, you almost have an immediate gratification because they’re producing,” he said in 2001.
George E. Allen Sr., 87, of Philadelphia, pioneering music teacher, lifelong musician, band leader, composer, and author, died Sunday, March 3, of heart failure at his home in Wynnefield.
Adept at playing music, organizing others to play music, composing music, and writing about music, Dr. Allen played the piano, clarinet, and saxophone; directed a college jazz band for three decades; watched his own work performed at local venues; and titled his 2013 autobiography I Was Not Asked, An African American Educator from Philadelphia Spreads His Love for Music.
He also taught music in the School District of Philadelphia, mostly at Overbrook High School, for 40 years and was the district’s first Black chair of a high school magnet music department. He instructed hundreds of musicians over 30 years as leader of the Community College of Philadelphia Jazz Band, and, after retiring from Overbook in 1997, taught music classes at Cabrini College, Cheyney and Lincoln Universities, and elsewhere.
He forged a remarkable bond between music and education, his family said in a tribute, and his motto was: It is better to know than to think you know. “The best musicians should be music educators,” Dr. Allen told the Daily News in 2001. “You teach more than music. You teach life.”
Dr. Allen was an innovative, disciplined, and demanding teacher, former high school students said, and he encouraged them to read music even if they didn’t play an instrument. In the 1980s, he collaborated with musician Wynton Marsalis to form a regional high school jazz band that performed for the National Association for Music Educators and other groups.
“He is one of the most unique individuals I have encountered,” a former high school student of Dr. Allen said in 2001. “We’re talking about someone who helped me to understand who I was.”
At Community College of Philadelphia, Dr. Allen taught classes one night a week for years, and Joe Sudler, a musician, band leader, and former member of the CCP Jazz Band, told the Daily News in 2001: “He’s led a lot of guys on the right path, be it player or teachers. I got a lot of good groundage and a lot of my ideas from George Allen.”
Dr. Allen was an expert on jazz and classical music, and he included elements of both in nearly everything he composed. He debuted his piece Sacred Suite in 2012 at the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas, and the Main Line Symphony Orchestra performed his Winter People, Summer People composition in 2023.
He was active with many music organizations, a board member of the Settlement Music School, and past president of the National Association for the Study and Performance of African American Music. “He cherished his students and was so proud when they did so well,” said his daughter Robinell. “They were like part of his family.”
George Edward Allen was born Dec. 3, 1936, in Camden and lived for four years in Lawnside. Ludwig van Beethoven, one of his favorite composers, was also born in December, in 1770, Dr. Allen noted in his autobiography.
His family moved to South Philadelphia in the early 1940s and then to West Philadelphia, and he graduated from Overbrook in 1954. His father introduced him to music when he was in elementary school, and he played clarinet in high school district and state bands, and in the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra.
He competed in playground basketball games against neighborhood all-stars Wilt Chamberlain and Sonny Hill, and played later in college. He earned a bachelor’s degree in music education at West Chester State Teachers College, now West Chester University, in 1958, and a master’s degree and doctorate in music at Temple University.
He knew Eloise Peters from kindergarten, and they married in 1958, and had daughters Ina, Gloria, and Robinell, and sons David, George Jr., and Mark. His wife and sons David and Mark died earlier.
Dr. Allen joined the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity in college. He traveled often, especially enjoyed jazz-themed cruises with other musicians, and cheered loudly for the Eagles, 76ers, and Phillies.
He received a kidney transplant from his daughter Robinell in 2007. Before Overbrook, he taught music at Benjamin B. Comegys Elementary School, Edwin H. Vare Junior High School, and Simon Gratz High School.
In 2011, Dr. Allen celebrated his 75th birthday with a musical gala at his home. He told The Philadelphia Tribune that day: “My response to people who ask how I’ve accomplished what I have is, I did it my way.”
In addition to his children, Dr. Allen is survived by 14 grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, two sisters, and other relatives. A brother died earlier.
Visitation with the family is to be from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 17, at Pinn Memorial Baptist Church, 2251 N. 54th St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19131. A service is to follow.
Donations in his name may be made to the Settlement Music School, Box 63966, Philadelphia, Pa. 19147.