later editions acknowledged the Mason as editor. Mason returned to Boston in 1827, having negotiated a position as music director at three Boston churches. Between 1829 and 1869 he published about 20 further collections of hymns. Those collections favored adaptations of tunes by prominent European composers rather than the traditional rural hymn tunes. He expertly adapted the melodies of instrumental works from European masters such as Haydn, Beethoven, Mozart, and Schubert into his collections of sacred music and published them. By simplifying their musical content and harmonic language he introduced them to the American public. His compositions include the hymn tunes for "From Greenland’s Icy Mountains", "Nearer, My God, to Thee", and "My Faith Looks Up to Thee". Mason devoted his life to music as a composer, a publisher and, most significantly, a music educator. In 1832 he founded the Boston Academy of Music. In 1838, because of his insistence that singing should not be absent from children’s education, the Boston School Committee added introductory music to the primary and secondary school curriculum, appointing Mason to lead the program. The Boston Six American musicians such as William Billings and Lowell Mason educated and enriched aspiring musicians of their time such as George Chadwick and Horatio Parker. Amy Beach, George Chadwick, Arthur Foote, Edward MacDowell, John Knowles Paine and Horatio Parker collaborated and eventually became known as the Boston Six. In 1815, the Handel and Haydn Society was formed, followed by the Boston Academy of Music. In 1867, The New England Conservatory was founded. It is not surprising then, that Boston should have nurtured a tradition of musical composition and a group of composers who are often considered together a "school." Many of the New England composers had academic affiliations and were among the pioneers of academic music education in the United States. John Knowles Paine, who served as the first Professor of Music at Harvard University, was considered as the leading compositional authority during his lifetime and, unofficially, the leader of this group. Paine held seniority in age and experience over most of his colleagues. Horatio Parker became Professor of Music at Yale University, and Edward MacDowell at Columbia University. Music education in relation to Europe During the Second New England School's years of prominence, American musical education was still in its infancy. Americans often learned music theory and composition in Europe or from European musicians who had emigrated to