Charles Jerome Hopkins (April 4, 1836 November 4, 1898) was a 19th-century musician, Composer and Champion of the Arts. He is often confused, in historical texts, with his nephew, Edward Hopkins, who was also a musician and composer.
Early life and inspirations
Charles Jerome Hopkins was born April 4, 1836, in Burlington, Vermont. He was the 9th child of that state's first Episcopal Bishop, John Henry Hopkins, and Mellusina Muller Hopkins. Born prematurely, with a weak heart, it was uncertain that he would live beyond infancy. In a letter addressed to him from his aunt Amelia, many years later, it was observed that Charles labored at breathing when he was a child, suffered a lifelong heart murmur and was missing the "pinkie toe" on one of his feet – this latter physical feature responsible for keeping him out of the service during the Civil War. Charles did survive though he lived a protected and, some would say, a spoiled life due to his delicate health.
From the earliest ages right up through adolescence he was exempt from the work that was required of his older brothers who helped clear land, cut forest, plant an apple orchard and help build the family home and their father's school: the Vermont Episcopal Institute at Rock Point (Burlington, Vermont). Charles was under the care of his elder brother Theodore A. Hopkins who, for 21 years, was headmaster of The Institute school. Theodore was very much like a second father to the boy and encouraged "Charlie", as he was nicknamed by the family, to pursue milder passions.
Painting, music, and literature became Charlie's disciplines. Several small sketches from his childhood survive in Hopkins family files at the University of Vermont's Bailey Howe Library in the Special Collections room. One is a watercolor of Lake Champlain with sailboats. Another is a portrait of a small girl. Some sketches of horses and flowers are in the small collection of artworks as well.
Charlie's first musical compositions appear when he is nine years old. Hopkins was a self-taught musician and composer and from the beginning of his musical education and career, he spurned European music. Among the exceptions to that preference were Handel, Beethoven and Mendelssohn. Those composers he supported and he would later include their compositions among the pieces to be performed by either himself or his students. By and large, however, he believed that an American musical style, composed by American artists, would come to be respected and revered if only America would embrace and cultivate its own native artists.
At the time, America was still considered to be inhabited by crude immigrants and rebels with no culture. Classical music and opera were ruled by Europe and it was believed by many, worldwide, that only Europeans could become Masters of the Arts. Charles Jerome Hopkins was determined to prove them wrong.
From the age of ten, barely able to reach the stops, Charlie played pipe organ at St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral (Burlington, Vermont). He traveled, as well, to churches in Rutland, Vermont and Rochester, New York to play organ and help Theodore write liturgical music for the church services. It was noted by Theodore, in letters of reference for Charles, that the lad could learn any composition by ear. Throughout his entire life, when giving his musical tours and performances, Hopkins never used sheet music or notes when performing or lecturing.
Education and early formative experiences
At the age of fourteen, Charles attended the University of Vermont, studying chemistry. He loved the science and for much of his life, even when he dedicated himself to music, it was thought of him that he struggled to choose between two equal masters of his passions: Chemistry and Music. He did not graduate from UVM, rather he left Vermont, first for London to play at The Crystal Palace and then for New York City. He had decided once and for all that the cause of discovering the American Art through music was to be his life's purpose.
At the age of 16, Charles Jerome Hopkins arrived at Cooper Union and applied for a music teaching position, without credentials or experience. He was told to go gather up some experience and try again. Becoming an organist at several New York City churches (including the illustrious and historical Trinity Cathedral), he built up his experience but also set into place the pattern of animosity with those in authority that would plague him his entire life and ruin, in many instances, the successes he could have had.