Sally and Joseph Handleman Institute of Recorded Sound Dedication Ceremony photograph album

The University of Miami opened in the fall of 1926 with two academic units: the Conservatory of Music (later called the School of Music), and the College of Arts and Sciences. The School was founded by Bertha M. Foster, who became the University’s first music dean. It was renamed the Frost School of Music in 2003 in honor of a landmark naming gift by Dr. Phillip and Patricia Frost, ardent supporters of the arts in Miami.

The School of Music has survived many decades of change and growth to become a national music leader in higher education. It offers degrees in instrumental performance, vocal performance, music engineering, music education, music composition, and musical theatre. It also offers Studio Music and Jazz degrees for instrumentalists and vocalists. Its Studio, Music, and Jazz Program is consistently known as among the best in the nation. It was also the first music school in the nation to offer the innovative degree in Music Business and Entertainment Industries, as well as boasting a hands-on music therapy program.

For over 30 years, Joseph Handleman was the president of the Handleman Company,  which specialized in sales, merchandising, and distribution of consumer goods including phonograph records.  He advised the School of Music on the development of new degree programs in Music Merchandising and Recorded Music.