Ward 's memories of growing up in Oakland included his father John Milton Ward II , a physician , treating survivors of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake . Ward attended San Francisco Junior College , and then San Francisco State College . He received a Master of Music from the University of Washington in 1942 , and a Doctor of Philosophy in 1953 from New York University with a dissertation entitled '' The ' Vihuela de mano ' and its Music ( 1536-1576 ) '' . His teachers were Otto Gombosi , Curt Sachs , Gustave Reese and George Herzog , and he took private composition lessons with Darius Milhaud . Prior to Harvard he taught at Michigan State University and the University of Illinois
1906 San Francisco earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
John Milton Ward IV