John James Haynie

Professor Emeritus of Trumpet

University of North Texas

 

John Haynie was born in Ralls, Texas in 1924. His family lived in Ralls and Breckenridge, and later moved to Cisco, where John attended Cisco schools in the second through eighth grades. He began playing the cornet at age nine when a friend of his grandfather's stopped by to visit and made John a gift of the cornet he'd brought with him. John made rapid progress on his own, sounding out the hymns he heard in church before he could even read music. His grandmother recognized that his was a special talent, and she engaged the Cisco High School band director, G. C. Collum, to give John more formal lessons. Nannie insisted that she pay for the lessons, and a fee of ten cents per lesson was agreed upon! When Collum left Cisco for another band program, Robert Maddox was hired. This was the turning point for John, because it was Robert Maddox who instilled the love of music and the discipline to succeed that Haynie would later pass on to his own students.

When Cisco High band director Robert Maddox relocated to Mexia in 1939, John lost interest in music. His skill as a child cornet prodigy was well-known throughout Texas, and Maddox could think of only one solution to keep John focused on music - to have John could come to Mexia and live with his family. The Haynies agreed, and John attended Mexia High School his sophomore, junior, and senior years. He was named "Who's Who in Texas High Schools" and graduated with honors in 1942. After graduation, he enrolled at Texas Tech, staying for one semester before entering military service in May, 1943. Upon his discharge in November, 1945, he was awarded the Good Conduct Medal in Battle, the World War II Victory Medal, the American Theater Medal, and the European Theater Medal with three battle stars. He continued his education at Texas Tech for one year before transferring to the University of Illinois. There he received both his Bachelor's and Master's degrees, and graduated in Spring 1950 It was also there that he met his future wife, Marilyn Hindsley.

John Haynie was hired by then North Texas State College in July 1950 for a six-week summer session. In effect, it was a six-week audition, which he passed with flying colors. In the late 1950s, he made two commercial recordings of trumpet contest music (these and two other CDs of live performances have recently been re-released by Pender's Music. His research about the inner workings of the oral cavity when playing the trumpet, with Denton radiology Dr. Alexander Finlay, brought further international recognition. To expose his students to the best performers world-wide, he brought the French trumpet virtuoso Maurice Andre and the premiere Russian soloist Timofei Dokschitzer to Denton. Realizing the shortcomings of the trumpet literature needed by his students, he wrote three method books: Development and Maintenance, Twelve Study Groups, and High Notes, Low Notes, and All Those In-between, all still used today.

John Haynie taught at the University of North Texas from 1950-1990. During that time he received the 'Fessor Graham Award (1984), which is presented annually to the faculty member voted most outstanding by the North Texas student body. He also received the Distinguished Service Award from the University of Illinois School of Music (1991) and the Lifetime Achievement Award from The North Texan magazine (2006). In Fall 2006, Cisco High School dedicated its new music facility - the J. J. Haynie Band Hall. In February 2007, the University of North Texas Press released his book, Inside John Haynie's Studio: A Master Teacher's Lessons on Trumpet and Life, a collection of teaching and autobiographical essays. His most recent honor came in March 2007, when the American Bandmasters Association awarded him the Edwin Franko Goldman Memorial Citation by the American Bandmasters Association.  The citation is awarded to a non-ABA member who has made significant contributions to bands or to music education. John Haynie's biographical information contributed by Anne Hardin, co-author of Inside John Haynie's Studio.